OF  THE 

U N I VERS  ITY 
Of  ILLINOIS 

3T5 

C + 29j 
I86G 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


•f-0  . t [24>C* 


f 


preface:. 


The  Graded  Course  of  Instruction,  prepared  by  W.  H. 
Wells,  Esq.,  has  been  in  successful  use  for  about  five  years. 
It  has  been  once  or  twice  modified,  and  as  the  supply  of  copies 
had  become  exhausted,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  revise  it 
before  the  publication  of  a new  issue.  The  work  of  revision 
has  required  nearly  a year’s  labor,  and  produces,  after  all,  but 
very  slight  modifications  except  in  the  oral  course,  and  in  this 
it  is  more  a work  of  re-arrangement  than  of  change.  The 
excellent  general  directions  of  Mr.  Wells  have  been  retained 
so  far  as  they  are  found  applicable  to  the  course  as  modified. 
Much  credit  is  due  also  to  the  Teachers  of  the  different  grades 
of  the  several  schools  for  their  timely  suggestions,  the  results 
of  their  experience,  and  especially  to  the  Principals  of  the 
District  schools,  and  to  the  Principal  of  the  High  School,  and 
to  the  Teachers  of  the  Normal  and  Model  schools,  for  their 
valuable  aid.  It  is  presented  to  the  teachers  for  their  guidance, 
with  the  belief  that  it  is  yet  imperfect,  but  with  the  hope  that 
in  their  hands  its  errors  may  be  so  corrected  as  to  make  it  sub- 
serve the  good  of  the  schools  and  the  advancement  of  sound 
learning. 

The  subjects  of  study  embraced  in  the  course  are  fixed  by 
the  Board  of  Education,  and  promotions  from  Grade  to  Grade 
j will  depend  upon  the  mastery  of  these  subjects. 


4 


PREFACE. 


But  the  general  directions  accompanying  the  course  are 
rather  suggestions  than  positive  precepts.  It  is  not  supposed 
that  all  teachers  will  pursue  with  equal  success  any  prescribed 
methods  of  instruction.  Each  must  work  in  his  own  way, 
while  all  labor  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  same  end.  The 
suggestions  made  as  to  methods  are  the  result  of  the  experience 
of  many  individuals,  and  may  be  safely  adopted  by  many 
others,  and  yet  in  some  particulars  a better  way  may  be  found- 
All  are  encouraged  to  find  that  better  way,  or  to  pursue  it  if 
already  found.  That  way  is  best  for  each,  by  which  he  may 
soonest  attain  the  end  sought — thorough  scholarship  and  com- 
plete manhood. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a list  of  the  Text  Books  used, 
and  the  portions  of  each  allotted  to  each  grade. 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS  FOR  ALL  THE  GRADES. 


§ 1.  READING. 

Every  good  reader  aims  first  to  comprehend  the  thoughts  of 
the  author  he  reads,  and  then  to  convey  to  others  an  intelligible 
idea  of  the  author’s  meaning.  The  training  of  the  pupil  in 
reading,  therefore,  involves  two  distinct  and  yet  inseparable 
kinds  of  instruction.  Mental  discipline  and  vocal  discipline 
must  be  carried  along  together.  Thought  and  its  expression 
must  be  considered  at  one  and  the  same  time.  Some  thought 
may  be  expressed  by  any  sort  of  utterance,  but  the  thought  of 
the  author  requires  vocal  organs  under  complete  subjection  to 
the  understanding.  To  read  well,  one  must  know  what  he  is 
reading,  and  must  have  such  complete  mastery  of  his  vocal 
organs  as  to  make  them  faithful  servants  ready  to  do  his  bid- 
ding without  mistake  of  any  kind.  No  dull,  listless,  unthinking 
scholar  can  ever  become  a good  reader.  The  teacher’s  first 
work  is  to  awaken  thought.  Something  the  child  can  under- 
stand should  be  selected  as  a reading  lesson.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary that  the  lesson  selected  be  one  already  understood ; it 
should  be  one  in  advance  of  the  child’s  present  ability,  but 
within  the  reach  of  his  comprehension.  We  oftener  underrate 
than  overrate  the  ability  of  pupils,  while  the  reverse  is  true  as 
regards  their  actual  growth  or  progress. 

Children  who  become  expert  in  the  utterance  of  sentences 
that  contain  no  thought  make  no  mental  progress.  There 
must  be  obstacles  thrown  in  the  child’s  path,  or  he  will  gain  no 
strength.  If  all  be  leveled  and  smoothed  for  him,  his  monoto- 
nous style  of  reading  is  but  the  outgrowth  of  an  inactive,  slug- 
gish mind.  The  teacher  should  bring  the  pupil  into  the  face 
of  the  difficulties  in  his  lesson,  and  encourage  him  to  battle, 
rallying  him  again  and  again,  if  need  be,  to  the  contest,  until 
victory  crowns  his  efforts. 


6 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


To  test  the  accuracy  of  the  child’s  knowledge  of  what  he 
reads,  he  should  be  encouraged  to  read  sentences,  substituting 
for  some  selected  words,  words  of  his  own  choosing,  that  shall 
change  the  form  but  not  the  meaning  of  the  passage.  This 
exercise  may  embrace  at  first  but  a single  word  in  each  sen- 
tence, and  then  may  be  extended  as  the  capacity  of  the  pupil 
may  seem  to  warrant,  until  nearly  or  quite  all  the  words  are 
changed.  In  the  more  advanced  classes,  poetical  selections 
may  be  changed  into  prose.  While  the  definitions  given  by 
the  author  should  not  be  neglected,  the  child  should  be  en- 
couraged as  far  as  possible  to  give  definitions  of  his  own,  and 
should  be  permitted,  as  indicated  above,  to  put  his  definitions 
into  the  place  of  the  words  defined,  and  then  to  read  the  sen- 
tences he  has  changed.  This  test  may  be  still  further  extended 
by  requiring  the  pupil  to  embody  the  selected  words  in  sen- 
tences of  his  own  construction. 

If  the  teacher  finds  difficulty  in  securing  proper  expression 
in  any  particular  case,  the  remedy  may  be  found  in  asking  a 
question,  the  proper  answer  to  which  would  be  the  difficult 
passage,  and  in  requiring  the  pupil  to  give  the  passage  as  an 
answer  to  the  question  asked. 

The  voice  of  the  teacher  should  be  frequently  heard  in  every 
reading  exercise,  as  an  example  for  the  scholars  to  imitate.  If 
any  teachers  are  conscious  of  imperfect  articulation  or  expres- 
sion, they  should  seek  every  means  of  correction  within  their 
reach. 

There  are  those  who  have  superior  ability  and  success  as 
teachers  of  reading,  whose  methods  and  whose  experience  may 
be  made  available  by  those  of  less  experience  or  less  success. 
In  this  branch  more  than  in  any  other,  models  may  be  safely 
followed.  Teachers  may  learn,  as  their  pupils  must  learn,  by 
imitating  good  models.  Mere  repetition  of  a badly  read  sen- 
tence does  no  good,  unless  the  fault  be  distinctly  marked  out, 
and  the  correct  reading  be  given  by  the  teacher,  or  by  some 
member  of  the  class  who  has  mastered  the  difficulty.  Good 
readers  in  a class  may  be  permitted  to  give  the  model.  This 
course  often  secures  the  desired  result  sooner  than  any  other. 

Too  much  concert  reading  leads  to  the  formation  of  bad 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


7 


habits,  and  to  the  cultivation  of  unnatural  tones  of  voice.  The 
forward  raise  their  voices  to  an  unnatural  key  lest  their  supe- 
rior reading  should  not  be  heard,  while  the  diffident  and  dis- 
trustful drop  their  voices  into  a lower  than  natural  key,  lest 
they  should  make  some  mistake  and  mar  the  general  effect, 
and  the  lazy  move  their  lips  that  they  may  appear  to  read, 
while  not  a sound  escapes  their  moving  lips.  Concert  reading 
should  not  be  discarded,  but  should  be  carried  just  so  far  as  it 
can  be  done  without  encouraging  monotonous  and  measured 
reading.  Short  sentences  are  much  better  for  concert  practice 
than  long  ones,  since  they  do  not  require  measured  divisions. 
Every  teacher  should  make  strenuous  effort  to  secure  good 
reading  of  a whole  class  in  concert,  but  should  check  such 
reading  the  instant  it  falls  into  measured  monotone,  or  devel- 
ops in  any  pupil  unnatural  tones  of  voice.  The  advantages  of 
concert  reading  will  not  pay  for  a single  bad  habit  formed  by 
its -careless  use.  The  attention  of  the  class  may  be  kept  by 
other  methods,  one  of  which  is  of  importance  in  other  recita- 
tions as  well, — that  is  calling  upon  scholars  out  of  their  regular 
order  of  standing  or  sitting,  and  if  need  be,  calling  upon  the 
same  person  two  or  three  times,  until  the  impression  that  he 
will  be  called  on  but  once  is  entirely  dissipated.  Answers  to 
general  questions  connected  with  reading  lessons  maybe  given 
in  concert.  The  enunciation  of  elemental  sounds  may  also  be 
given  in  concert.  Poetical  selections,  which  are  already  meas- 
ured, may  be  read  in  concert  with  less  difficulty  and  with  less 
danger  than  prose. 

While  a class  is  engaged  in  reading,  the  undivided  attention 
of  the  teacher  should  be  given  to  it.  If  the  attention  of  the 
teacher  be  called  away  necessarily,  the  exercise  should  be 
suspended. 

Children  should  be  encouraged  to  criticise  each  other  fairly 
and  justly.  Raising  the  hand  during  the  progress  of  the  read- 
ing should  not  be  allowed,  but  at  its  close  those  who  have 
noticed  errors  should  have  an  opportunity  of  correcting  them, 
provided  always  that  the  critic  can  illustrate  his  own  criticism. 
This  should  be  occasionally  tested. 

An  excellent  teacher  gives  as  the  result  of  her  experience 


8 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


this  important  caution,  “ Children  must  be  taught  to  open  their 
mouths  before  they  can  become  good  readers.”  The  import- 
ance and  value  of  this  suggestion  are  fully  confirmed  by  the 
experience  of  all  good  teachers,  and  this  introduces  also  the 
important  topic  of  distinct  articulation. 

Frequent  exercises,  varied  according  to  the  advancement  of 
pupils,  in  the  utterance  of  elementary  sounds,  single  and  com- 
bined, should  be  most  faithfully  attended  to.  This  may  be 
more  fully  treated  under  the  instructions  with  reference  to  the 
several  grades.  While  good  articulation  is  not  the  end  of 
reading,  it  is  an  essential  means , and  one  without  which  the 
true  end — expression  of  thought — can  never  be  attained. 

There  is  no  fault  more  common  in  reading  than  that  of 
stumbling,  hesitating,  catching  and  repeating.  It  is  but  one 
fault  and  teachers  should  use  every  effort  to  break  it  up.  The 
moment  the  child  shows  the  first  symptoms,  his  case  should  be 
carefully  but  immediately  considered,  and  strict  attention  at 
once  given  to  its  cure.  It  sometimes  arises  from  the  child’s 
vocal  organs  getting  the  start  of  his  thoughts,  and  should  be 
cured  by  a little  hard  study,  until  the  pupil  becomes  familiar 
enough  with  the  thought  to  have  his  mind  keep  ahead  of  his 
voice.  It  sometimes  arises  from  pure  carelessness  and  its  cure 
needs  no  mention.  It  often  arises  from  the  use  of  books  in 
advance  of  the  child’s  capacity,  so  that  reading  becomes  mere 
utterance  without  so  much  as  a thought  creeping  in  even  be- 
hind a word  uttered.  The  case  suggests  its  own  remedy.  It 
sometimes  arises  from  indulgence  in  a similar  habit  in  all  other 
recitations. 

Whatever  its  cause,  its  cure  must  be  certain,  or  no  progress 
is  made,  but  on  the  other  hand  constant  retrogression. 

§ 2.  SPELLING. 

In  conducting  oral  exercises  in  spelling,  pupils  should  pro- 
nounce each  word  distinctly  before  spelling  it,  and  they  should 
never  be  allowed  to  try  twice  on  a word.  Whenever  a pupil 
misses  a word,  let  him  afterwards  be  required  to  spell  it  cor- 
rectly. This  may  be  done  as  soon  as  the  correction  is  made 
in  the  class,  or  deferred  till  the  close  of  tlie  recitation. 


b 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION.  9 

An  excellent  plan  is  for  the  teacher  to  pay  no  apparent  at- 
tention to  the  misspelling,  but  pronounce  the  next  word  in 
order,  and  so  on  until  some  pupil  who  has  noticed  the  error, 
spells  the  misspelled  word  instead  of  the  one  pronounced  for 
him  by  the  teacher,  and  for  this  correction  he  should  receive 
some  credit,  either  by  going  above  all  whom  the  word  has 
passed  and  the  one  who  first  misspelled  it,  or  by  changing 
places  with  the  one  who  committed  the  error,  or  if  no  change 
of  place  be  allowed,  by  some  mark  of  credit.  The  teacher 
should  in  all  cases  keep  track  of  the  misspelled  words  and  see 
that  they  are  not  entirely  passed  over.  In  all  cases  of  a mis- 
spelled word  under  this  practice,  each  pupil  who  has  allowed 
the  word  to  pass  him  should  be  required  to  spell  it  correctly 
before  the  recitation  closes,  if  there  be  time,  if  not,  at  the  next 
recitation. 

In  giving  out  the  words  to  a class,  teachers  sometimes  com- 
mit the  error  of  departing  from  the  ordinary  pronunciation, 
for  the  sake  of  indicating  the  orthography.  Thus  in  the  word 
variance , the  vowel  in  the  second  syllable  is  given  very  dis- 
tinctly as  long  i,  to  show  that  the  letter  is  i and  not  e.  The 
words  should  in  all  cases  be  pronounced  according  to  the 
standard  dictionary  used  in  the  schools. 

As  pupils  are  constantly  liable  to  misunderstand  the  pronun- 
ciation of  words,  it  is  a very  useful  practice,  in  all  written  ex- 
ercises, to  call  on  some  pupil  in  the  back  part  of  the  room  to 
re-pronounce  each  word  distinctly,  as  soon  as  it  is  pronounced 
by  the  teacher. 

Special  attention  should  be  given  to  syllabication,  in  con- 
nection with  oral  spelling.  Pupils  should  syllabicate  in  all 
cases,  as  in  the  following  example  : a-m  am , p-l-i  pli , ampli , 
f-y  fy , amplify.  Nor  should  there  be  the  least  deviation  from 
this  rule  in  cases  where  the  syllable  contains  but  a single  let- 
ter, as  in  element— e-l  el , e e,  ele , m-e-n-t  ment,  element.  The 
reason  for  this  will  be  specially  apparent  in  words  in  which 
the  sound  of  the  syllable  is  not  the  same  as  the  sound  of  the 
name  of  the  letter. 

Syllabication  in  written  spelling  has  but  one  use,  that  of  de- 
termining the  place  of  division  of  words  when  a word  occu- 


10 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


pies  parts  of  two  lines.  With  present  practice  this  is  of  such 
rare  occurrence  that  it  does  not  compensate  for  the  time  spent 
in  syllabication,  nor  does  it  warrant  the  unnatural  appearance 
of  words  so  divided.  Besides,  any  person  having  learned 
syllabication  in  connection  with  oral  spelling  need  never  make 
mistakes  in  writing,  where  the  necessity  of  dividing  words 
arises. 

Teachers  should  bear  constantly  in  mind,  that  unless  habits 
of  correct  spelling  are  formed  early,  there  is  very  little  proba- 
bility that  they  will  ever  be  acquired. 

However  thorough  the  drill  in  spelling  may  be,  from  the 
lessons  of  the  speller  and  reader,  every  teacher  should  have 
frequent  and  copious  exercises  in  spelling  words  from  other 
sources.  These  should  be  words  in  common  use,  chosen,  as 
far  as  possible,  from  the  range  of  the  pupil’s  observation,  in- 
cluding the  new  words  that  arise  in  object  lessons,  and  in 
geography,  arithmetic,  grammar,  etc.  The  more  difficult  of 
these  words  should  be  written  in  columns  on  the  blackboard, 
and  studied  and  reviewed  with  the  same  care  as  lessons  from 
the  speller  and  reader.  Failures  in  spelling  these  words  should 
be  marked  with  errors,  the  same  as  failures  in  any  other  les- 
sons. 

Teachers  should  put  forth  their  best  efforts,  especially  in  pri- 
mary classes,  to  secure  the  attention  of  the  pupils,  and  render 
the  lessons  as  interesting  as  possible.  Occasional  exercises  in 
“ choosing  sides,”  when  properly  conducted,  may  be  made 
highly  useful.  The  exercise  of  “ spelling  down  ” a class  may 
be  resorted  to  occasionally  with  good  effect. 

If  a teacher  finds  at  any  time,  while  conducting  an  oral  ex- 
ercise in  spelling,  that  a portion  of  his  class  are  becoming  list- 
less, he  can  easily  recall  their  attention  by  the  following  sim- 
ple measure : The  whole  class  pronounces  distinctly  the  word 
given  by  the  teacher,  as  notation ; then  one  scholar  says  n ; 
the  next  o ; the  next  pronounces  the  syllable  no  ; the  next  says 
t ; the  next  a ; the  next  ta  ; the  next  nota ; the  next  t;  the 
next  i;  the  next  o;  the  next  n;  the  next  tion;  then  the 
whole  class  pronounce  the  word  notation. 

Another  useful  method  is  to  read  a sentence  of  reasonable 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


11 


length,  and  require  the  members  of  a class  to  spell  the  words 
in  order;  the  first  scholar  spelling  the  first  word,  the  next 
scholar  the  second,  and  so  on  to  the  end. 

Pupils  may  be  allowed  to  select  words  for  each  other’s 
spelling,  confining  them  to  the  last  lesson  in  geography,  arith- 
metic, history  or  grammar.  The  first  in  the  class  pronounces 
a word  for  the  second  to  spell,  and  the  second  for  the  third, 
and  so  on,  the  last  pronouncing  a word  for  the  first.  The 
scholar  who  fails  to  pronounce  his  word  properly,  or  to  spell 
correctly  the  word  given  him  should  take  his  seat  at  once,  and 
the  one  standing  longest  on  the  floor  be  declared  the  victor. 

No  exercise  can  be  more  frequently  varied  than  this  with 
profit  to  the  pupil. 

In  all  written  exercises  the  spelling  should  be  carefully  scru- 
tinized, and  the  misspelled  words  given  to  the  pupil  or  the 
class  at  the  next  exercise  in  written  sjielling.  First  make  sure 
that  pupils  can  spell  correctly  the  words  they  have  occasion  to 
use,  and  after  that  words  they  may  never  use,  if  there  be  time. 
In  written  spelling  it  is  better  that  the  misspelled  word  should 
be  re-written  correctly  and  in  such  a position  that  the  false  and 
true  spelling  may  be  seen  at  a glance. 

In  spelling,  teachers  should  avoid  the  use  of  any  unnatural 
tones  of  voice,  and  should  pronounce  the  words  as  they  would 
read  them  if  they  were  reading  aloud.  This  will  secure  the 
attention  of  the  scholars  better  than  it  can  be  done  by  any 
other  method. 


§ 3.  MENTAL  ARITHMETIC. 

In  all  the  grades  where  a text-book  on  this  subject  is  used, 
teachers  should  make  up  many  exercises  similar  in  principle  to 
those  of  the  book,  so  that  principles  may  be  thoroughly  under- 
stood. The  use  of  prescribed  formulas  at  all  times  is  not  de- 
sirable. It  cripples  independent  action  and  thought.  After  an 
example  is  wrought  according  to  formula,  pupils  should  be  en- 
couraged to  present  other  methods  of  solution,  and  should  be 
commended  for  any  correct  solution,  especially  if  it  be  brief 
and  intelligible. 


12 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


The  answer  should  in  all  mental  exercises  be  given  first,  and 
then  the  solution  may  or  may  not  be  given,  as  the  teacher  may 
prefer — provided,  the  teacher  is  sure  that  the  pupil  understands 
the  correct  method  of  solution.  A solution  may  with  profit  be 
given  by  several  members  of  a class,  each  person  called  upon 
taking  the  solution  exactly  where  it  was  left  by  his  prede- 
cessor, without  omission  or  repetition  of  a word.  This  practice 
secures  facility,  attention  and  accuracy.  For  the  purpose  of 
securing  solutions  according  to  a prescribed  formula,  concert 
exercises  may  be  made  very  profitable.  Great  pains  should 
be  taken  to  secure  brevity  and  accuracy  in  language,  in  me- 
thods and  in  results. 

Classes  in  arithmetic  should  have  frequent  extemporaneous 
exercises  in  combining  series  of  numbers,  involving  the  princi- 
ples which  they  have  gone  over.  These  numbers  should  be 
given  by  the  teacher,  slowly  at  first,  and  afterward  with  more 
and  more  rapidity,  as  the  pupils  are  able  to  carry  forward  the 
computation.  The  following  is  an  example : Take  5,  add  3, 
add  10,  subtract  9,  multiply  by  8,  add  20,  add  8,  subtract  40, 
divide  by  10 — result?  Those  who  are  prepared  to  answer 
raise  the  hand,  and  the  teacher  calls  on  one  or  more  of  them 
individually  for  the  answer,  or  on  all  together.  Exercises  of 
this  kind  should  be  commenced  as  soon  as  pupils  are  able  to 
add  simple  numbers  together,  and  continued  through  the  en- 
tire course.  Similar  examples  may  occasionally  be  carried 
rapidly  around  the  class,  each  pupil  giving  in  turn  the  result 
for  one  step  of  the  process,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

In  all  exercises  of  this  kind  there  is  danger  that  but  few  will 
derive  benefit  from  them,  unless  the  teacher  is  specially  watch- 
ful, and  calls  out  often  those  who  do  not  give  evidence  in  their 
countenances  of  mental  activity.  In  all  cases  it  is  well  to  get 
answers  from  a large  number  of  the  class  before  telling  which 
are  right.  This  course  may  be  pursued.  An  exercise  is  given ; 
hands  are  raised ; some  one  called  on  gives  the  result,  and  all 
who  agree  with  the  result  given  drop  their  hands.  One  of  the 
disagreeing  ones  gives  a result  and  those  who  agree  drop  their 
hands  ; and  so  on  till  all  hands  are  down.  The  teacher  then 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


13 


announces  the  correct  answer,  or  if  it  be  not  a lengthy  exer- 
cise calls  upon  some  one  to  repeat  it,  giving  results  at  each 
step,  that  those  who  failed  may  see  the  cause  of  their  failure, 

§ 4.  WRITING. 

Writing  should  be  taught  as  a simultaneous  class  exercise, 
all  the  members  of  the  class  attending  to  the  same  thing  at  the 
same  time. 

In  conducting  exercises  in  writing,  teachers  should  make 
constant  use  of  the  blackboard.  Important  letters  and  princi- 
ples of  the  copy  should  be  written  on  the  board,  both  correctly 
and  incorrectly,  illustrating  the  excellencies  to  be  attained  and 
the  errors  to  be  avoided.  Teachers  who  are  not  accustomed 
to  this  mode  of  illustrating  will  find  that  they  can  easily  qualify 
themselves  to  introduce  it. 

Many  teachers  who  excel  in  imparting  a knowledge  of  other 
branches,  teach  penmanship  only  indifferently  well.  Teachers 
who  have  little  taste  for  this  exercise  should  discipline  them- 
selves  to  increased  effort.  Even  a poor  writer  may  make  a 
good  teacher  of  penmanship ; and  no  one  who  attempts  to 
teach  writing  is  excusable  for  not  teaching  it  successfully. 

Exercises  of  special  excellence  should  receive  marks  of  spe- 
cial credit;  and  deficiencies  resulting  from  carelessness  or 
indifference,  should  in  all  cases  receive  marks  of  error  and 
affect  the  scholarship  averages  as  much  as  failures  in  any  other 
lessons. 

Occasionally,  in  the  higher  grades,  it  may  be  well  to  place  a 
copy  on  the  blackboard,  and  require  each  pupil  of  the  division 
to  hand  to  the  teacher,  after  so  many  minutes’  practice,  what 
he  considers  the  best  imitation  of  the  copy.  For  this  purpose 
the  pupil  should  write  upon  slips  of  paper,  the  copy  being 
written  but  once  upon  each  slip,  and  then  the  slips  being  care- 
fully compared,  the  one  with  which  the  pupil  is  best  satisfied 
should  be  handed  to  the  teacher  for  marking. 

The  practice  of  directing  the  movements  of  the  class  by 
counting  is  recommended.  The  pupils  will  thus  write  with 
greater  care  and  precision  while  learning.  Rapid  writing  must 
succeed  slower  movements  if  at  all  successful. 


14 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


§ 5.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

This  must  be  considered  as  essential  a part  of  the  course  of 
instruction  as  any  other,  and  must  be  made  in  part  the  basis 
of  advancement  from  grade  to  grade.  All  examinations  in  the 
oral  course,  at  least  as  far  as  through  the  sixth  grade,  should 
be  entirely  oral.  From  the  sixth  through  the  third  grade,  they 
should  be  oral  mainly,  but  may  in  some  parts  be  written.  In 
the  remaining  grades  there  can  be  no  objection  to  making  the 
examination  mainly  a written  examination. 

Teachers  should  prepare  themselves  thoroughly  upon  the 
topics  in  the  oral  course,  and  be  sure  that  their  instructions 
are  simple,  concise  and  accurate.  This  subject  will  be  more 
fully  treated  under  the  several  grades. 

While  a definite  time  should  be  assigned  to  the  exercise,  and 
as  a general  rule  no  deviation  be  allowed  from  the  programme) 
still  occasionally  opportunities  will  arise,  when  the  facts  of  an 
object  lesson  maybe  more  vividly  impressed  upon  the  mind 
than  at  any  other  time,  and  advantage  should  be  taken  of  this 
favorable  opportunity,  though  it  may  call  up  objects  out  of 
their  regular  order. 

“ The  teacher  should  never  tell  the  child  what  he  can  make 
the  child  tell  him,  and  should  never  give  the  child  any  infor- 
mation without  calling  for  it  again.” 

§ 6.  GOOD  LANGUAGE. 

The  importance  of  this  subject  cannot  be  over-estimated.  It 
has  been  so  well  stated  by  Hon.  J.  G.  McMynn  that  I quote 
his  words : 

“ Great  attention  should  be  given  to  the  language  used  in 
the  school-room,  both  by  teachers  and  pupils.  It  should  be 
pure  English,  free  from  all  provincialisms ; and  the  construc- 
tion of  the  sentences  should  be  grammatical.  It  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  that  the  teachers  of  our  primary  scholars 
should  be  accurate  in  the  use  of  language ; quick  to  notice  and 
prompt  to  correct  all  ‘ bad  grammar  ’ heard  in  their  school- 
rooms. No  dang , no  useless  expletives,  no  unnecessary  repe- 
tition, no  obsolete  words,  no  violations  of  orthography  or  syn- 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


15 


tax,  should,  at  any  time , or  under  any  circumstances,  be 
allowed  to  pass  without  careful  correction.  The  power  of  ex- 
pression may  be  cultivated  by  1 Object  Lessons  ’ and  conver- 
sation. Pupils  should  also  be  advised  and  required  to  write 
much.  Recitations  may  sometimes  be  conducted  by  writing, 
and  will  be  found  profitable.  Questions  should  be  pointed 
and  precise ; answers  should  be  concise  and  exact.  Every 
answer  should  embrace  a complete  proposition.  Frequently 
the  pupil  gives  the  answer  only  in  part.  Every  exercise 
and  every  recitation  should  be  so  conducted  as  to  habit 
uate  the  scholars  to  correct,  terse,  and  elegant  modes  of 
expression.  All  indistinctness  of  utterance,  all  clipping  of 
words,  all  hesitancy  of  speech,  should  at  once  be  noticed  and 
the  proper  remedies  faithfully  applied.” 

Every  exercise  in  the  school-room  should  be  made  an  exer- 
cise in  the  use  of  language.  The  most  thorough  study  of  the 
rules  of  syntax,  the  most  careful  analysis  in  later  years,  will 
not  correct  the  bad  habits  formed  in  childhood.  Many  a man 
skilled  in  the  use  of  language  has  never  studied  for  an  hour  an 
English  Grammar,  while  many  who  can  parse  any  sentence 
given  them,  affixing  the  rule  for  each  word,  and  giving  to  each 
rule  its  proper  number,  make  constant  and  egregious  blunders 
in  their  every-day  talking  or  writing.  The  habits  formed  in 
early  life  are  the  ground  of  the  difference.  Let  every  teacher 
be  a living  grammar,  and  the  “ dry  study  ” will  become  juicy 
and  sweet  to  the  learner. 

§ 1.  MORALS  AND  MANNERS. 

Love  to  parents  and  others,  friendship,  kindness,  gentleness, 
obedience,  honesty,  truthfulness,  generosity,  self-denial,  neat- 
ness, diligence,  etc.,  are  cultivated  in  children,  not  so  much  by 
direct  exhortation  and  formal  precept,  as  by  resorting  to  expe- 
dients that  will  call  these  affections  and  qualities  into  active 
exercise.  Lead  a child  to  do  a kind  act,  and  you  will  increase 
his  kindness  of  heart ; and  this  is  the  best  of  all  lessons  on 
kindness.  Let  teachers  ever  remember  that  the  exercise  of 
virtuous  'principles , confirmed  into  habit,  is  the  true  means  of 
establishing  a virtuous  character. 


16 


TUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


Little  anecdotes  and  familiar  examples,  illustrating  the  love 
of  brothers  and  sisters,  the  respect  due  to  the  aged,  kindness 
to  animals,  mutual  love  of  companions  and  associates,  benevo- 
lence, etc.,  are  among  the  best  means  of  cultivating  these  vir- 
tues. Teaching  mainly  by  examples,  will  accomplish  far  more 
than  any  formal  catechism  of  moral  instruction. 

Teachers  should  frequently  read  to  their  divisions  short,  en- 
tertaining narratives,  and  make  them  the  subject  of  familiar 
and  instructive  conversations  with  their  pupils.  So  also  in  les- 
sons on  animals,  trees,  and  all  the  works  of  nature,  opportuni- 
ties should  be  constantly  improved  to  show  the  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness  of  the  Creator,  and  to  inculcate  the  reverence 
that  is  due  to  Him,  and  a sense  of  dependence  upon  Him. 

Every  case  of  quarreling,  cruelty,  fraud,  profanity,  and  vul- 
garity should  be  made  to  appear  in  its  true  light.  The  selfish- 
ness of  children  is  the  greatest  obstacle  to  moral  training.  To 
moderate  this  strong  instinct,  to  teach  self-denial  and  self-con- 
trol, must  be  the  constant  care  of  the  teacher. 

There  is  no  time  when  the  watchfulness  of  the  teacher  is 
more  necessary  than  during  the  recesses  and  other  hours  of 
relaxation  at  school.  This  is  the  time  when  little  differences 
are  most  likely  to  spring  up,  and  bad  passions  to  gain  the 
ascendancy.  Ho  parent’s  eye  is  upon  the  children,  and  yet 
they  should  constantly  feel  that  some  kind  guardian  is  near — 
not  to  check  their  cheerful  sports,  but  to  encourage  every  kind 
and  noble  act,  and  to  rebuke  every  departure  from  the  path  of 
virtue  and  honor. 

Good  manners  are  intimately  connected  with  good  morals , 
and  teachers  should  improve  every  opportunity  to  inculcate  les- 
sons of  civility  and  courtesy.  In  the  primary  divisions,  espe- 
cially, the  teachers  should  give  frequent  and  somewhat  minute 
directions  respecting  the  ordinary  rules  of  politeness.  Let  the 
pupils  be  taught  that  when  a question  is  asked  them,  it  shows 
a lack  of  good  breeding  to  remain  silent  or  shake  the  head, 
even  if  they  are  not  able  to  answer  it.  They  should  receive 
some  general  directions  respecting  the  manners  of  younger 
persons  in  the  presence  of  those  who  are  older.  They  should 
be  taught  that  well-bred  persons  seldom  laugh  at  mistakes,  etc. 


GEADED  COUESE  OF  INSTEUCTION. 


11 


The  manners  of  the  children  in  their  intercourse  with  each 
other  before  and  after  school,  and  at  the  recesses,  and  in  going 
to  and  from  school,  should  receive  the  constant  and  watchful 
care  of  the  teacher. 

The  position  of  the  pupil  in  his  seat;  his  movements  in  pass- 
ing to  and  from  the  class ; his  position  in  class  or  at  his  seat 
when  called  upon  to  recite,  should  receive  the  teacher’s  most 
careful  scrutiny.  Bad  manners  open  the  door  for  the  entrance 
of  bad  morals,  and  all  listless  and  lounging  habits  in  the  school- 
room are  but  the  sure  indication  of  a loaferish  spirit  which 
unchecked  will  lead  to  vicious  associates  and  practices.  The 
teacher  should  respect  himself  too  much  to  receive  any  answer 
from  a pupil  who  is  not  in  a manly  posture,  and  who  does  not 
in  his  tone  and  manner  express  sincere  respect  both  for  his 
teacher  and  the  place  he  holds  among  his  fellows.  Nor  can 
the  teacher  keep  too  constantly  in  mind  the  truth  uttered  by 
Marcel — “ Nature,  reason  and  experience  proclaim  this  order, 
example  before  precept .” 

No  teacher  can  expect  to  make  his  pupils  more  civil,  more 
courteous,  or  more  truthful  and  virtuous  than  he  shows  himself 
to  be.  In  dress,  in  movement,  in  speech,  in  thought  even,  he 
must  b<? what  he  would  have  his  pupils  become . 

§ 8.  COMPOSITION  WRITING. 

There  is  no  school  exercise  so  generally  disliked  as  that  of 
composition  writing,  and  yet  none  may  be  made  more  attractive 
and  certainly  none  is  more  valuable.  These  are  some  of  the 
first  steps  to  be  taken : 

1.  There  should  be  no  set  time  for  the  exercise,  recurring  as 
is  usually  the  case  once  in  two  or  three  weeks;  but  instead, 
biief  and  frequent  exercises  should  be  required  at  less  intervals. 

2.  The  subjects  should  always  be  those  about  which  the 
pupil  has  been  studying,  or  upon  which  oral  instruction  has 
been  given.  If  for  any  reason  the  teacher  desires  composi- 
tions upon  some  particular  topic,  that  topic  should  be  made  the 
subject  of  a lesson  or  many  lessons,  as  its  importance  may  de- 
mand. Leading  questions  may  then  be  addressed  to  the  child, 
and  his  answers  will  be  his  composition  for  the  time.  Special 

2 


18 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


commendation  should  be  given  for  any  additional  facts  or  argu- 
ments not  called  for  by  the  teacher. 

3.  All  errors  that  occur  in  the  use  of  words  in  spelling,  use 
of  capitals,  punctuation  or  division  into  paragraphs  should  be 
carefully  marked  in  the  margin  by  the  teacher  by  the  use  of 
“ W ” for  an  error  in  the  use  of  a word — “ S ” for  errors  in 
spelling — “ C ” in  use  of  capitals  or  in  the  improper  use  of 
small  letters — “ P ” for  punctuation — “ % ” for  improper  divis- 
ions into  paragraphs — “ O”  for  any  omission  of  word,  or  pause, 
or  letter.  The  proper  abbreviation  should  be  placed  upon  the 
line  in  which  the  error  occurs,  and  the  particular  spot  may  be 
indicated  by  a dash  or  not,  as  the  age  and  advancement  of  the 
pupil  may  seem  to  demand. 

4.  The  pupils  should  be  called  upon  to  read  these  exercises, 
and  then  written  criticisms  may  or  may  not  be  called  for,  ac- 
cording to  the  advancement  of  the  writer.  In  all  cases,  how- 
ever, the  second  exercise  should  be  a re-writing  of  the  first, 
with  corrections,  enlargement,  or  what  I think  still  better,  con- 
densation. Let  special  praise  be  awarded  the  child  who  has 
properly  expressed  the  most  thoughts  in  the  fewest  words. 

The  second  writing  should  be  presented  to  the  teacher  with 
the  original,  that  he  may  determine  more  readily  whether  or 
not  the  needed  corrections  have  been  made. 

5.  Time  will  be  required  for  the  successful  carrying  out  of 
this  work,  but  it  need  not  be  extra  time,  for  it  may,  in  most 
cases,  take  the  place  of  written  abstracts  and  reviews,  at  least 
in  the  Grammar  Department. 

§ 9.  SINGING. 

Little  need  be  said  upon  this  subject  since  all  the  exercises 
outside  of  the  book  used  are  under  the  direction  of  the  teachers 
of  vocal  music.  There  is,  however,  one  important  caution  to 
be  observed.  Children  should  not  be  left  to  sing  while  the 
teacher  is  engaged  in  other  work.  During  the  exercise  the 
undivided  attention  of  the  teacher  should  be  given  to  it.  Be- 
side the  regular  times  for  singing,  a single  verse  sung  with  life, 
when  a spirit  of  listlessness  or  of  weariness  seems  to  creep 
over  the  school,  will  do  much  to  awaken  and  refresh  the  pupils. 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


19 


It  is  well  to  associate  music  with  many  of  the  physical  exer- 
cises of  the  school. 

All  the  pupils  should  give  strict  attention  to  the  exercise, 
because  nearly  or  quite  all  may  learn  to  sing,  and  because 
the  very  few  who  may  not  learn  to  sing  may  be  very  much 
profited  by  the  accompanying  exercises — beating  time  and 
reading  the  music.  Little  profit  will  come  from  a singing  exer- 
cise unless  spirited  attention  be  given  to  it. 

§ 10.  ABSTRACTS  AND  REVIEWS. 

Each  lesson  should  be  made,  to  some  extent,  a review  of  the 
previous  lesson,  without,  however,  consuming  very  much  time, 
except  in  cases  in  which  the  previous  recitation  has  been  un- 
satisfactory. Pupils  should  understand  that  they  are  liable  to 
be  called  on  to  recite  any  portion  of  the  previous  lesson,  and 
questions  enough  should  be  asked  in  review  to  make  it  neces- 
sary for  them  to  read  over  the  last  lesson  before  coming  to  the 
recitation,  unless  their  previous  preparation  has  been  sufficient 
to  fasten  it  Qn  the  memory. 

The  oral  lessons  should,  in  most  cases,  be  reviewed  more 
than  once,  and  in  all  cases,  till  they  are  thoroughly  learned  and 
remembered. 

In  most  of  the  studies  in  which  the  recitations  occur  daily, 
one  lesson  each  week  should  be  a review  of  the  four  preceding 
lessons.  Classes  reciting  only  two  or  three  times  a week  may 
have  a review  every  second  week;  and  there  may  be  a few 
exceptional  cases  in  which  it  will  be  best  to  have  these  reviews 
only  once  a month. 

In  the  primary  divisions,  the  reviews  will  necessarily  be 
oral;  but  in  the  grammar  divisions  they  should  be  both  oral 
and  written.  In  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  grades,  most  of  the  classes 
should  have  at  least  one  written  review  in  a month,  beside 
the  oral  reviews. 

It  may  be  well,  occasionally,  to  devote  an  hour  to  a written 
review  of  all  the  different  branches,  in  one  exercise,  selecting 
ten  or  more  questions  promiscuously  from  all  the  studies  of  the 
class. 

In  the  five  upper  grades,  all  the  classes  should  have  occa- 


20 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


sional  exercises  in  writing  a few  lines  of  prose  or  verse,  dic- 
tated orally  by  the  teacher,  as  a test  of  their  proficiency  in 
spelling,  punctuation,  use  of  capitals,  penmanship,  etc.  In  the 
4th  and  5th  grades,  the  pupils  may  use  either  pen  or  pencil,  at 
the  discretion  of  the  teacher;  but  in  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  grades 
they  should  be  required  in  all  cases  to  use  a pen.  These  exer- 
cises should  be  strictly  extemporaneous,  and  every  paper 
should  be  passed  to  the  desk  at  the  close  of  a specified  time. 

One  of  the  best  methods  of  conducting  written  reviews,  is 
to  write  several  topics  distinctly  on  the  blackboard,  and  re- 
quire the  pupils  to  expand  them  as  fully  and  accurately  as  pos- 
sible. Each  pupil  should  be  seated  by  himself,  if  practicable, 
and  furnished  with  pen  and  paper ; but  he  should  receive  no 
assistance,  direct  or  indirect,  from  either  teacher  or  text-book. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  to  remove  from  the  pupils,  as  far  as 
possible,  all  temptation  to  seek  assistance  from  books,  or  pa- 
pers, or  class-mates.  When  two  pupils  of  a class  are  seated 
at  the  same  desk,  it  is  often  desirable  to  have  two  sets  of  ques- 
tions of  about  equal  difficulty — one  set  for  all  the  pupils  sitting 
at  one  end  of  the  desks,  and  one  for  those  sitting  at  the  other 
end. 

Written  reviews  are  among  the  most  successful  means  that 
can  be  employed  for  securing  thoroughness  and  accuracy  of 
scholarship.  They  afford  a reliable  test  of  the  pupil’s  know- 
ledge of  the  subject,  cultivate  habits  of  freedom  and  accuracy 
in  the  use  of  language,  and  afford  a valuable  discipline  to  the 
mind,  by  throwing  the  pupil  entirely  upon  his  own  resources. 

In  addition  to  the  written  reviews,  teachers  of  the  higher 
divisions  should  require  frequent  written  exercises  in  connec- 
tion with  the  daily  recitations  in  history,  grammar,  arithmetic 
etc. 

All  written  reviews,  abstracts,  etc.,  should  pass  under  the 
critical  examination  of  the  teacher ; the  important  errors  should 
be  corrected  ; and  pupils  presenting  papers  carelessly  written, 
should  be  required  to  re-write  them. 

§ 11.  DIVISIONS,  CLASSES  AND  RECITATIONS. 

1.  Number  of  Classes  in  a Division. — As  a general  rule, 
the  pupils  assigned  to  each  teacher  in  the  Grammar  Depart- 


GEADED  COUESE  OF  INSTEUCTION. 


21 


ment  should  be  divided  into  two  classes ; in  the  5th,  6th,  7th 
and  8th  grades,  into  three  classes ; and  in  the  9th  and  10th 
grades,  into  four. 

The  number  of  pupils  in  a division,  or  other  circumstances, 
may  make  it  desirable,  in  certain  cases,  to  depart  from  this 
arrangement. 

2.  Number  of  Branches  to  be  'pursued  at  the  same  time. — 
It  requires  the  constant  watchfulness  of  teachers  to  prevent 
pupils  from  undertaking  too  many  branches  of  study  at  a time. 
Pupils  should  rarely  be  allowed  to  study  more  than  three 
branches  at  once,  besides  reading,  spelling  and  writing ; and 
it  is  generally  better  to  have  some  of  the  lessons  come  only  on 
alternate  days  than  to  have  even  the  six  exercises  in  one  day. 

In  all  cases,  however,  the  branches  assigned  to  the  grade 
should  be  kept  along  as  uniformly  as  possible,  so  that  none  be 
completed  while  others  are  neglected.  The  course  of  study  is 
arranged  with  reference  to  the  mental  wants  of  the  child,  and 
some  variety  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  best  progress  in 
study. 

3.  Order  of  Exercises  and  Length  of  Becitations. — Every 
teacher  should  have  posted  up  in  the  room  an  established 
order  of  exercises  for  each  day  in  the  week,  assigning  a defi- 
nite time  for  the  beginning  and  ending  of  every  exercise,  and 
of  every  interval  between  the  exercises,  and  this  order  should 
assign  also  definitely  the  times  for,  and  topics  of  study,  as  well 
as  recitation. 

It  is  impracticable  to  establish  a uniform  rule  respecting  the 
frequency  and  length  of  recitations.  The  following  scale  will 
serve  as  a general  guide  to  teachers  in  this  matter : 

Recitations  in  the  Grammar  Department  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  minutes  in  length,  except  exercises  in  spelling,  which 
may  usually  be  completed  in  fifteen  to  twenty-five  minutes ; in 
the  5th,  6th  and  7th  grades,  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  min- 
utes ; in  the  8th  and  9th  grades,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  min- 
utes ; and  in  the  10th  grade,  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes. 

4.  Frequency  of  Becitations . — The  following  arrangement 
will  serve  as  a general  guide,  but  cases  may  sometimes  arise 
in  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  depart  from  it : 


22 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


Reading  classes  in  the  1st  grade,  two  or  three  times  a week; 
in  the  2d  and  3d  grades,  three  or  four  times ; 4th  grade,  four 
or  five  times  ; 5th  and  6th  grades,  five  to  eight  times  ; 7th  and 
8th  grades,  eight  to  ten  times. 

Slate  arithmetic,  three  or  four  times  a week ; mental  arith- 
metic, in  4th  and  5th  grades,  four  or  five  times  a week ; in  3d 
grade,  three  or  four  times ; in  2d  grade,  two  or  three  times. 
Numbers,  in  five  lowest  grades,  five  times  a week. 

Geography,  from  three  to  five  times  a week. 

History,  three  or  four  times  a week. 

Grammar,  from  three  to  five  times  a week. 

Spelling,  in  1st  grade,  two  or  three  times  a week  ; 2d  and 
3d  grades,  three  or  four  times ; 4th  grade,  four  or  five  times ; 
all  grades  below  the  4th,  eight  to  ten  times. 

Writing,  in  the  grammar  divisions,  two  or  three  times  a 
week  ; in  the  5th  and  6th  grades,  four  or  five  times. 

5.  Division  of  Time  and  Labor . — In  deciding  what  propor- 
tion of  time  shall  be  given  to  spelling  by  letters,  what  to  spell, 
ing  by  sounds,  to  reading,  to  numbers,  to  geography,  etc.,  the 
rule  should  be  this  : whenever  a class  is  less  advanced  in  one 
branch  assigned  to  the  division  than  in  other  branches,  let  that 
particular  branch  receive  special  attention  till  it  is  as  familiar 
as  the  others.  It  is  very  common  to  find  a class  more  advan- 
ced in  reading  than  in  numbers,  and  still  devoting  less  atten- 
tion to  arithmetic  than  to  reading ; the  observance  of  this  rule 
will  correct  all  such  errors. 

§ 12.  PHYSICAL  EXERCISES. 

The  object  of  these  exercises  is  Physical  Culture.  By  the 
position  of  the  body  in  study,  there  comes  weariness,  which 
may  but  be  relieved  by  change  of  position.  By  inactivity  of 
the  body  in  study  there  comes  sluggishness  in  the  flow  of  all 
the  vital  fluids,  and  an  unhealthy  state  of  all  the  muscles. 

Change  of  posture  and  activity  are  essential  in  these  physi- 
cal exercises.  All  the  pupils,  except  such  as  may  be  excused 
on  account  of  ill  health,  should  be  required  to  participate,  and 
to  enter  into  them  with  energy  and  promptness.  No  good 
comes  from  any  other  than  a lively  and  spirited  exercise.  The 


GEADED  COUESE  OF  INSTEUCTION.  23 

teacher  should  lead  the  pupil,  inasmuch  as  she  needs  the  exer- 
cise nearly  as  much  as  they,  and  still  farther  because  her  own 
interest  will  awaken  interest  on  the  part  of  the  pupils.  As  to 
kinds  of  exercise,  there  is  variety  enough  in  the  schools,  and 
any  teacher  who  is  not  acquainted  with  the  best  forms,  can 
readily  learn  them  from  more  experienced  teachers.  In  teach- 
ing the  different  series  of  movements,  the  initial  letters  may  be 
used : as,  “ U.”  for  Upward,  “ D.”  for  Downward,  “ F.”  for 
Forward,  “ B.”  for  Backward,  etc.,  etc.  “ R.  U.”  would  indi- 
cate Right  hand  up,  “ L.  D.”  Left  hand  down,  etc.,  etc.,  or  the 
full  words  may  be  given  until  the  class  is  familiar  with  the  or- 
der. Music  or  counting  should  accompany  the  exercises. 

§ 13.  MENTAL  DISCIPLINE. 

The  highest  ultimate  object  of  intellectual  education  is  men- 
tal discipline ; and  this  discipline  can  only  be  acquired  by 
mental  labor.  Examples  are  frequently  arising  in  which  teach- 
ers give  assistance  that  is  not  required,  and  thus  rob  the  pupils 
of  the  discipline  which  they  would  gain  by  overcoming  the 
difficulties  themselves.  Teachers  should  study  carefully  the 
capabilities  of  their  pupils,  and  never  do  for  them  what  they 
are  able  to  do  without  assistance.  Pupils  should  also  be 
guarded  against  the  dangerous  habit  of  assisting  one  another, 
without  the  knowledge  and  approval  of  the  teacher. 

It  is  also  true  that  some  pupils  suffer  from  the  want  of  a lit- 
tle assistance  given  at  the  proper  time  and  in  the  proper  way- 
This  should  never  be  direct,  but  by  starting  back  to  some  point 
which  the  pupil  does  understand  let  him  be  led  up  to  the  diffi- 
culty in  his  path  by  careful  steps,  which  he  shall  take  for  him. 
self.  These  steps  may  be  simple  illustrations  of  what  he  does 
understand,  and  yet  similar  to  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered. 
By  overcoming  these,  he  may  gain  strength  to  overcome  the 
greater,  and  a little  care  and  time  taken  to-day,  may  save  time 
and  care  for  all  future  days.  The  principal  difficulties  in  a pu- 
pil’s path  lie  in  his  inability  to  apply  principles  to  exam- 
ples that  vary  in  form  and  phraseology  from  the  illustrations 
given  him  when  he  learned  the  principles.  The  similarity  of 


24 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


examples  should  be  shown  the  pupil  and  he  will  thus  be  pre- 
pared to  do  what  before  he  thought  he  could  not  do. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  teacher,  to  exer- 
cise a watchful  care  over  the  pupils’  hours  and  habits  of  study. 
Some  pupils  never  learn  to  study  a lesson  abstractedly  and 
with  the  whole  mind  ; and  some  teachers  have  heretofore  been 
so  unfortunate  as  not  to  know  that  they  have  any  special  re- 
sponsibility in  this  matter. 

The  power  of  attention  is  essential  to  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  study  at  every  stage  of  progress,  and  the  best  efforts 
of  teachers  should  be  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  this  great 
educational  power. 


§ 14.  GENERAL  EXERCISES. 

In  all  the  exercises  of  the  school  room  order  is  of  the  first 
importance.  It  is  often  the  case  that  that  school  is  best  gov- 
erned in  which  there  is  the  least  apparent  show  of  attempts  to 
govern.  It  is  certain  that  a noisy  teacher  will  have  a noisy 
school.  Constant  and  nervous  calls  to  order,  only  make  the 
repetition  of  such  calls  more  and  more  necessary.  The  voice 
of  the  teacher  should  seldom  be  heard  in  securing  the  attention 
of  pupils,  and  rarely  if  ever  above  the  natural  key.  The  bell 
in  the  hand  of  the  teacher  should  not  be  rung  as  though  the 
necessity  for  some  sudden  alarm  existed,  but  a single  tap  or  a 
succession  of  light  and  constantly  lighter  taps,  will  suffice  with 
a teacher  who  can  stand  calm  and  self-possessed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  school.  Quiet  and  patient  demeanor  is  worth  more 
than  bluster.  If  a scholar  needs  reproof  for  idleness  or  inat- 
tention, the  fixed  gaze  of  the  teacher  upon  such  scholar  until 
his  roving  eye  rests  upon  her,  will  in  the  majority  of  cases 
serve  the  purpose  better  than  calling  the  name  of  the  pupil. 
Frequent  calling  of  the  names  of  disorderly  pupils  often  cre- 
ates more  disorder  than  it  cures,  since  it  distracts  the  attention 
of  others,  who  would  not  otherwise  have  been  disturbed. 

Some  general  directions  may  here  be  given  as  to  signals  by 
which  the  movements  of  pupils  may  be  directed.  For  recesses, 
opening  and  closing  school,  these  may  all  be  given  by  the  large 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


25 


bell  in  the  hall.  For  exercises  in  rooms  where  there  is  a musi- 
cal instrument,  all  the  movements  may  be  directed  by  signals 
given  from  the  instrument.  In  all  other  cases  when  the  teach- 
er directs  the  movements  of  her  room,  I would  advise  the  use 
of  what  may  be  called  initial  signals.  If  she  wishes  a class  to 
give  attention,  “A  to  turn  in  their  seats,  “ T to  rise,  “R;” 
to  get  in  proper  line  for  marching  or  for  any  other  purpose, 
“ L to  move  or  march,  “ M to  face  about  and  change  di- 
rection of  movement,  “ F;”  to  halt,  “ H to  sit,  “ S.”  In 
all  cases  the  signal  is  the  initial  letter  of  the  word  of  command. 
Preparatory  to  marching,  some  measures  may  be  counted  that 
shall  indicate  the  desired  speed,  thus : 1,  2 ; 1,  2 ; 1,  2 ; 1,  “M.” 

§ 15.  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT. 

This  may  be  resorted  to  in  extreme  cases,  and  but  a single 
caution  is  needed.  Let  it  be  inflicted  at  some  fixed  time,  long 
enough  after  the  offence  to  allow  time  for  calm  and  sober  re- 
flection on  the  part  of  both  teacher  and  pupil.  The  necessity 
for  it  may  have  passed  before  the  time  arrives,  in  voluntary 
confession  of  wrong  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  or  it  may  be  of 
the  teacher,  (for  it  is  possible  that  the  teacher  may  be  wrong,) 
or  in  the  discovery  of  some  substitute  that  may  serve  the  same 
purpose  with  better  effect  upon  both  pupil  and  teacher.  Con- 
fession of  wrong  done,  never  should  weaken  the  respect  of  the 
teacher  for  the  pupil,  and  will  never  weaken  the  authority  of 
the  teacher  who  may  have  erred.  All  punishments  which  in- 
flict bodily  pain  must  be  considered  as  corporal  punishments. 
Punishment  should  never  be  inflicted  upon  the  head  of  a child 
or  in  the  vicinity  of  any  of  the  more  exposed  vital  organs.  It 
should  always  be  reasonable  and  adapted  to  the  offence  com- 
mitted. If  any  teacher  cherish  the  laudable  purpose  to  govern 
without  corporal  punishment,  it  is  better  that  such  purpose  be 
kept  a secret  from  the  pupils.  No  good  can  come  from  telling 
the  pupils  of  such  a purpose,  and  much  harm  may  result. 


26 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


GRADED  COURSE. 

TENTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Different  parts  of  the  human  body ; five  senses ; com- 
mon objects,  their  size,  color  and  more  observable  properties. 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Reading  from  blackboard  and  from  cards,  with  exercises  in  spelling,  both 
by  letters  and  sounds,  until  the  child  can  call  at  sight  and  spell  correctly  at 
least  one  hundred  of  the  words  found  in  the  first  half  of  the  primer.  Two 
or  more  lessons  each  day. 

Counting  from  one  to  sixty.  Simple  exercises  in  adding,  with  use  of  nu- 
meral frame. 

Drawing  on  the  slate ; imitating  simple  forms,  letters,  figures  and  other 
objects  sketched  by  the  teacher. 

Printing  or  Writing  the  reading  and  spelling  lessons,  and  the  Arabic  num- 
bers as  far  as  twenty.  Two  or  more  exercises  a day. 

Singing. 

Physical  Exercises  as  often  as  once  every  half  hour ; each  exercise  from 
three  to  five  minutes. 

The  recitations  in  this  grade  should  never  exceed  fifteen  minutes  each, 
and  in  some  lessons  ten  minutes  will  be  time  enough. 

§ 16.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

The  Oral  Course  for  the  Primary  Grades  has  been  arranged 
with  reference  to  the  natural  order  of  development  of  the 
child’s  faculties ; 1st,  Perceptive.  2d,  Conceptive.  3d,  Com- 
paring or  reasoning. 

Common  Objects. — Since  the  tenth  grade  should  be  regarded 
as  a bridge  from  the  freedom  of  home  life  to  the  more  regular 
discipline  of  the  school  room,  the  first  lessons  should  be  simple 
conversational  exercises  upon  home  objects,  with  which  the 
children  are  already  familiar,  and  in  which  they  feel  the  greatest 
interest ; their  toys,  their  pets,  their  plays,  their  friends,  etc.,  etc. 
They  should  be  encouraged  to  give  the  teacher  all  the  knowledge 
they  possess,  and  should  be  stimulated  to  learn  by  careful  ob- 
servation more  than  they  already  know.  Habits  of  observa- 
tion and  of  accuracy  in  the  use  of  language  are  of  the  first 
importance.  Pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  bring  to  the 
teacher  objects  for  examination,  so  far  as  it  may  be  done  con- 
veniently and  with  propriety.  There  need  be  no  limit  as  to  the 
character  of  these  familiar  objects.  All  observable  properties 
should  be  noted  without  any  very  rigid  attempt  at  classifica- 


GRADED  COURSE  OP  INSTRUCTION. 


27 


tion.  Short  and  pertinent  anecdotes  may  enforce  the  lesson 
which  should  always  cease  the  moment  the  interest  of  the  class 
flags.  If  the  child  in  this  grade  can  be  induced  to  pass  along 
with  all  his  senses  in  active  exercise,  very  much  good  will  be 
accomplished.  As  to  size,  color  and  parts  of  these  common 
objects,  the  aim  should  be  to  secure  the  child’s  own  ideas  and 
to  correct  such  as  are  erroneous,  in  all  cases  avoiding  the  use 
of  difficult  words,  and  making  the  instruction  as  simple  and  as 
comprehensive  as  possible. 

' The  Five  Senses. — As  the  child  comes  in  contact  with  ob- 
jects in  his  daily  life,  he  will  see,  hear,  smell,  touch  or  taste 
them.  Upon  some  objects  a single  sense  may  be  employed  • 
upon  others,  several  or  even  all.  It  is  important  at  the  outset 
that  he  learn  something  about  the  organs  of  seeing,  hearing, 
smelling,  feeling  and  tasting,  and  their  proper  uses.  Much 
may  be  said  of  the  blind,  and  the  acuteness  of  their  other 
senses,  and  so  of  the  deaf,  and  of  the  reasons  why  persons  born 
deaf  do  not  learn  to  speak.  The  proper  care  of  each  of  the 
organs  should  be  enforced.  The  duty  of  sympathy  for  the 
unfortunate  should  be  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  all.  The 
methods  of  instruction  of  the  blind  and  of  the  deaf  mutes  will 
interest  and  profit  those  who  have  not  already  some  knowledge 
of  them.  The  comparison  of  these  methods  with  theirs,  and 
the  occasion  those  in  full  possession  of  their  senses  have  for 
gratitude,  will  serve  as  the  basis  of  important  lessons. 

The  Human  Body. — This  topic  should  embrace  only  the 
more  general  divisions  of  the  body,  as,  the  head  and  its  parts, 
skull,  face,  ears,  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  chin  and  their  relative  posi- 
tion and  uses  ; body,  chest,  neck,  throat,  lungs,  heart,  stomach; 
limbs,  arms,  legs,  elbows,  wrists,  hands,  fingers,  knees,  ankles, 
feet,  toes.  Something  may  be  said  about  the  bones  and  the 
flesh,  but  only  such  things  as  a child  may  comprehend.  See  § 5. 

Morals  and  Manners. — See  § 7 and  6. 

§ 17.  READING. 

If  any  single  method  of  teaching  this  branch  must  be  pur- 
sued to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  it  should  be  the  word- 
method.  But  no  such  necessity  exists,  nor  would  such  a course 


28 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


be  at  all  desirable  or  profitable.  Prominence  should  be  given 
to  the  word-method.  The  cards  furnish  words,  and  the  child 
should  be  made  so  familiar  with  them  that  he  can  call  them  at 
sight,  without  the  necessity  of  allowing  him  time  to  examine 
the  component  parts  of  the  word.  He  should  learn  the  names 
of  words  as  he  learns  his  schoolmates,  from  their  general  form 
and  peculiarities.  That  he  may  distinguish  John  from  Harry, 
he  does  nqt  necessarily  notice  each  feature  of  each  boy,  but  the 
general  impression  made  upon  his  mind  enables  him  to  distin- 
guish the  one  from  the  other.  When  close  resemblances  exist, 
it  is  necessary  that  his  attention  be  called  to  some  one  distin- 
guishing feature.  Were  the  pupil  called  upon  only  to  learn 
words  that  are  quite  or  entirely  dissimilar  to  each  other,  no 
other  than  the  word-method  would  be  needed,  but  to  every 
word  he  learns  to-day,  he  will  find  ere  long  some  other  word 
quite  similar  in  form.  He  should  therefore  be  taught  the 
separate  features  of  each  word,  that  where  he  finds  one  gene- 
rally similar  he  may  be  able  to  fasten  upon  some  point  of 
difference  that  may  serve  as  his  guide  in  naming  his  acquain- 
tances. 

Hence,  the  word  method  should  be  followed  or  accompanied 
by  the  analytic  and  synthetic,  or  spelling  method.  In  using 
the  cards  a large  number  of  exercises  may  be  introduced 
besides  those  found  thereon.  The  words  may  be  combined 
into  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  sentences.  The  teacher  may 
give  short  and  simple  sentences,  containing  words  found  upon 
the  cards,  and  require  the  pupils  in  turn  to  find  the  words  upon 
the  cards,  or  she  may  require  some  one  pupil  to  point  out  the 
words  while  the  class  reads  the  sentence  after  his  pointing. 
Sentences  may  be  printed  upon  the  board  and  the  pupils  be 
required  to  find  the  words  upon  the  cards. 

In  introducing  the  words  from  the  primer,  the  pupils  should 
not  have  the  book,  but  should  learn  the  words  as  printed  by 
the  teacher.  These  words  should  be  framed  into  sentences 
unlike  those  found  in  the  primer,  so  that  when  the  ninth  grade 
is  reached  and  the  pupil  takes  the  primer  into  his  hands,  he 
will  meet  familiar  words  but  in  new  relations,  and  from  the 
same  words  with  which  he  has  become  acquainted  he  will  gain 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


29 


new  ideas.  The  oral  exercises  should  be  made  subservient 
to  this  reading  exercise.  The  child  should  be  taught  the 
names  of  objects  about  which  he  is  learning,  unless  they  be 
too  difficult,  so  that  he  may  recognize  the  word-picture  of  the 
object  as  he  recognizes  any  other  picture.  Nearly  all  mono- 
syllabic names  of  common  objects,  he  may  learn  in  connection 
with  his  object  lessons  without  much  extra  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher.  Indeed,  each  reading  lesson  should  be  made, 
in  part  at  least,  an  object  lesson. 

No  exercise  in  reading  or  in  any  other  branch  of  this  grade 
should  be  continued  when  the  class  shows  signs  of  weariness, 
or  of  uncontrollable  inattention.  See  § 1. 

§ 18.  SPELLING. 

This  exercise  has  been  hinted  at  in  § 2.  Spelling  by  letters 
may  properly  be  extended  to  all  words  learned,  but  spelling 
by  sounds  should  be  confined  at  first  to  such  words  as  contain 
only  the  simplest  elemental  sounds,  and  in  all  cases  in  this 
grade  to  single  letters,  excluding  diphthongs  and  double  con- 
sonants, also  excluding  words  having  silent  letters.  There  are 
words  enough  to  occupy  all  the  time  that  can  be  given  to  this 
subject  in  the  grade,  without  introducing  any  excepted  as 
above. 

Let  the  teacher  take  special  pains  to  secure  accurate  and 
distinct  articulation  of  each  vowel  and  single  consonant. 
Connected  with  these  vocal  exercises  should  be  associated 
exercises  in  breathing — such  as  silent  and  prolonged  inhalation 
and  exhalation,  silent  and  rapid  breathing,  quick  and  full 
inhalation  followed  by  prolonged  and  silent  exhalation,  pro- 
longed and  silent  inhalation,  followed  by  rapid  exhalation ; 
rapid  inhalation  with  explosive  exhalation.  All  these  exercises 
in  breathing  should  be  very  short. 

Vocal  exercises  may  also  be  combined  with  physical  exer- 
cises, especially  in  the  utterance  of  the  vowel  sounds,  each 
being  connected  with  some  movement  of  hands  or  feet. 

The  exercises  may  be  varied  also  as  to  time,  pitch,  and 
volume.  Sounds  may  be  prolonged  or  shortened,  may  be  made 
high  or  low,  may  be  given  in  a whisper  or  with  full  tone.  See 
§2. 


30 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


§ 19.  COUNTING. 

In  this  exercise,  at  first,  pebbles,  beans,  or  better  still,  small 
blocks  an  inch  square  should  be  used.  Children  may  also 
make  marks  upon  their  slates,  and  count  them,  or  they  may  be 
required  to  make  a certain  number  of  marks  not  exceeding 
sixty.  In  counting,  they  should  be  required  to  commence  at 
any  point  and  count  either  forward  or  backward.  They  should 
be  able  to  call  at  sight  and  to  write  the  Arabic  numbers  as 
far  as  twenty. 

§ 20.  PHYSICAL  EXERCISES,  See  § 12. 

§ 21.  MORAL  AND  MANNERS,  See  § 7. 

§ 22.  DRAWING. 

It  is  designed  that  the  simplest  forms  shall  be  used  in  the 
drawing  exercise.  Straight  lines,  triangles  of  different  kinds, 
the  square,  and  the  rectangle.  The  names  need  not  be  given, 
the  object  being  skill  in  the  use  of  the  pencil.  The  teacher 
should  sketch  objects  of  different  kinds,  embracing  the  figures 
given  above,  and  draw  upon  the  board,  giving  the  pupils 
opportunity  to  follow  her  line  by  line.  After  the  first  attempt 
with  the  model  before  them  upon  the  board,  they  should  be 
encouraged  to  make  many  copies.  Occasionally  they  may  be 
allowed  to  put  their  various  forms  together  to  suit  their  own 
tastes. 

§ 23.  WRITING. 

The  children  of  this  grade  may,  in  connection  with  their 
drawing  lesson,  be  taught  the  use  of  the  pencil  in  making 
small  letters  in  script  form.  They  should  be  taught  how  to 
hold  the  pencil  in  forming  such  letters.  The  exercise  should 
be  a simultaneous  exercise,  and  should  be  conducted  by  the 
teacher  carefully  and  systematically.  See  § 4. 


GEADED  COUESE  OF  INSTEUCTION. 


31 


NINTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Domestic  animals ; trees  ; primary  colors  ; the  three 
kingdoms  of  nature. 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Reading  and  Spelling. — Exercises  upon  blackboard  and  cards  continued  ; 
tenth  grade  lessons  reviewed ; primer  completed  and  reviewed ; spelling 
both  by  letters  and  sounds ; the  exercises  in  both  reading  and  spelling  at 
least  twice  each  day;  the  names  and  forms  of  the  different  pauses,  with  the 
proper  use  of  the  period. 

Counting  from  one  to  one  hundred  ; reading  and  writing  Arabic  numbers  to 
one  hundred ; addition  tables  from  blackboard  to  4 plus  10  forward,  backward, 
and  irregularly,  with  use  of  numeral  frame  ; Roman  numerals  to  L,  both  in 
course  and  out  of  course  ; exercises  in  adding  series  of  small  numbers. 

Drawing. — Exercises  at  least  twice  each  day  with  slate  and  pencil,  using 
elementary  cards  when  they  can  be  obtained  ; printing  or  writing  lessons 
in  spelling  numerals,  etc.,  etc. 

Singing. 

Physical  exercises  from  two  to  five  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  five 
times  a day. 


§ 24.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

Classification  of  Natural  Productions. — Many  objects  may 
have  been  discussed  in  the  presence  of  the  tenth  grade  classes 
that  will  come  properly  before  them  in  the  remaining  grades 
of  the  Primary  Department,  but  thus  far  there  has  been  no 
attempt  at  classification.  The  object  has  been  to  awaken 
curiosity  in  any  direction  pleasing  to  the  child.  With  this 
grade  commences  a system  to  be  followed  through  succeeding 
grades.  The  classification  of  all  objects  under  three  general 
heads — animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral — according  to  the 
three  great  kingdoms  of  nature.  It  will  be  sufficient  for  the 
purposes  of  classification  to  give  the  following  definitions. 
Animals  are  living  beings,  having  the  powers  of  seeing,  hear- 
ing, smelling,  feeling  and  tasting,  and  also  having  the  power 
of  voluntary  motion.  Vegetables  are  living  things,  but  do  not 
have  the  powers  of  sensation  or  of  voluntary  motion.  All 
other  objects  are  minerals.  These  distinctions  are  correct, 
though  the  limits  between  animals  and  vegetables,  and  between 
vegetables  and  minerals  are  not  easily  determined,  so  that  in  a 
very  few  instances  not  often  brought  to  the  notice  of  children, 
it  is  difficult  to  place  objects  in  their  proper  class.  The  course 
to  be  pursued  may  be  briefly  sketched  thus.  An  object  is 


32 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


presented.  The  following  series  of  questions  may  be  asked  : 
Has  it  life  ? Can  it  move  of  itself  ? Can  it  see  ? Can  it 
hear  ? Can  it  smell  ? Can  it  feel  ? Can  it  taste  ? If  all  these 
questions  can  be  answered  in  the  affirmative  there  is  no  doubt 
that  it  is  an  animal.  If  all  must  be  answered  in  the  negative, 
it  must  be  a mineral.  If  the  first  question  can  be  answered  by 
yes  and  all  the  others  must  be  answered  by  no,  then  it  is  a 
vegetable.;  This  exhaustive  process  may  be  carried  out  in  full 
or  in  part,  in  all  cases,  until  the  child  classifies  readily.  Diffi- 
culties will  arise  when  dead  animals  are  presented,  and 
especially  when  ripened  and  perfected  fruits,  and  esculent 
vegetables  are  considered,  but  in  such  cases  the  difficulty  may 
be  solved,  if  instead  of  asking  the  questions  propounded  above, 
the  form  be  varied  so  as  to  read — Has  it  ever  had  life  ? Has 
it  ever  seen?  etc.,  etc.  Has  it  ever  had  the  power  of  voluntary 
motion  ? Let  the  questions  be  asked  either  in  the  one  form  or 
the  other  whenever  a new  object  is  presented,  and  there  will 
be  little  danger  of  improper  classifications. 

Animal  productions  may  also  be  discussed.  Such  things  as 
have  at  any  time  formed  part  of  any  animal,  are  animal  pro- 
ductions, as  feathers,  hair,  bristles,  &c.,  &c.  ; hides,  skins, 
furs,  leather,  &c.,  &c. ; bone,  ivory,  horn,  shells,  &c.,  &c.  In 
the  same  manner  vegetable  and  mineral  productions  may  be 
discussed. 

Domestic  Animals .• — The  cat,  the  dog,  the  horse,  the  cow, 
the  sheep,  the  hog,  the  hen,  the  duck,  the  goose,  the  turkey, 
&c.,  may  serve  as  illustrations.  Their  general  structure,  their 
relative  size,  and  their  clothing  or  covering  may  be  considered. 
The  head,  eyes,  ears,  nose,  and  feet  of  each  should  be  quite  fully 
discussed.  The  varieties  of  tone  in  their  utterances ; their 
modes  of  defense  when  attacked ; their  methods  in  lying  down 
and  in  rising,  or  their  positions  while  resting,  and  their  varied 
movements  in  walking,  running,  flying,  &c.,  their  kinds  of 
food,  and  their  teeth  (where  any  are  observable),  should  be 
made  prominent  topics  of  conversation.  Anecdotes  showing 
their  intelligence,  sagacity  and  cunning,  should  be  drawn  from 
the  children,  or  given  to  them  to  be  called  for  again.  Instances 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


33 


of  affection  for  one  another  or  for  man,  and  of  treachery  will 
be  found  interesting  and  profitable. 

Trees . — Such  trees  as  children  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
and  of  studying  should  be  selected.  Their  general  structure, 
their  bark  and  then*  leaves  may  be  discussed  in  such  a way  as 
to  teach  a child  the  difference  between  an  oak,  a hickory,  a 
maple,  a cottonwood,  an  elm,  a pine,  and  a cedar,  &c.  Their 
method  of  growth,  the  uses  of  their  roots,  and  of  their  leaves, 
should  be  understood. 

Primary  Colors. — These  are  red,  blue  and  yellow.  Pieces 
of  paper  or  of  cloth  having  any  one  of  these  colors  may  be 
constantly  before  the  child  as  book-marks.  Flowers  may  be 
compared  with  some  one,  or  all,  of  these  patterns  and  their 
colors  approximately  determined.  Nothing  should  be  said  of 
other  colors,  until  these  are  made  familiar  to  the  child.  The 
following  distinctions  may  be  properly  observed : light  red, 
red,  and  dark  red ; light  blue,  blue,  and  dark  blue ; light  yellow, 
yellow,  and  dark  yellow.  All  objects  that  have  any  one  of 
these  colors  may  be  talked  about  with  reference  to  their  color 
and  may  be  compared  with  other  objects  similar  in  color.  See 
§§  5/16,  6. 

§ 25.  READING  AND  SPELLING. 

In  this  grade  pupils  are  introduced  to  the  use  of  a book. 
Much  care  should  be  taken  to  teach  the  child  how  to  hold  his 
book  and  to  turn  the  leaves  properly.  The  book  should  always 
be  held  in  the  left  hand,  having  the  thumb  and  little  finger 
upon  the  face  of  the  book  when  opened,  and  the  other  fingers 
upon  the  back.  The  index  finger  of  the  right  hand  may  then 
be  used  to  aid  the  child  in  keeping  his  place,  or  to  turn  the  leaf 
when  needed. 

The  pupils  should  be  able  to  point  out  and  explain  the  title - 
page , table  of  contents , leaves , pages , margins , frontispiece , and 
the  headings  or  the  titles  of  the  lessons. 

While  the  pupil  reads  the  first  part  of  the  primer,  it  is  well 
that  a portion  of  each  exercise  be  devoted  to  teaching  the  new 
words  that  will  be  found  in  the  last  part  of  the  book  and 
extending  the  exercise  as  the  pupil  advances,  even  to  the  new 
3 


34 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


words  found  in  the  first  part  of  the  first  reader.  In  doing  this, 
care  should  be  taken  to  construct  sentences  unlike  those  found 
in  the  book.  The  words  and  sentences  should  be  taught  from 
the  board  unless  the  words  are  found  upon  the  card  used. 

In  preparing  an  exercise  in  spelling,  it  is  highly  important 
that  young  pupils  should  hear  the  words  pronounced  by  the 
teacher.  A very  useful  method  is,  for  the  teacher  first  to  pro- 
nounce all  the  words  of  the  lesson  distinctly,  while  the  pupils 
listen  attentively  and  point  to  the  words  in  the  books,  as  they 
are  pronounced.  Next,  the  teacher  pronounces  one  word, 
which  is  repeated  by  the  first  scholar  in  the  class;  then 
another  word,  which  is  repeated  by  the  second  scholar,  and  so 
on.  After  this,  if  time  permits,  the  teacher  and  class  may  pro- 
nounce in  concert,  and  then  the  class  pronounce  in  concert 
without  the  teacher. 

All  the  spelling  lessons  should  be  neatly  written  or  printed 
by  the  pupils  on  their  slates,  and  the  class  should  be  required 
to  read  the  words  from  their  slates  in  connection  with  the 
spelling  exercises.  See  also  §§  1,  17. 


The  children  should  be  taught  to  construct  their  own  addi- 
tion tables  by  the  use  of  the  slate  and  pencil,  and  a great  variety 
of  exercises  may  be  introduced  that  shall  give  them  facility  in 
adding  and  subtracting  as  far  as  the  grade  extends.  As  indi- 
cating some  of  the  exercises  that  may  be  given,  the  following 
may  serve,  it  being  understood  that  the  blank  space  is  to  be 
filled  by  the  child  : 


These  exercises  may  be  extended  with  profit,  if  the  teacher 
is  careful  that  the  sum  of  the  numbers  given  shall  not  exceed 
4+10  or  14.  See  also  § 19. 


The  teachers  of  this  grade  should  assign  definite  lessons  in 
drawing,  printing,  etc.,  to  be  prepared  by  all  the  pupils,  with 


§ 26.  NUMBERS. 


1+2= 
2+3= 
3+  =7 
+ 9=12 


l+l+2+3= 
2+  +1  + 1=6 
1 + 1 + 1+  =11 
4+l+l+3= 


§ 27.  DRAWING,  PRINTING,  ETC. 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


35 


the  same  regularity  and  care  as  any  other  exercise.  The 
teacher  should  spend  at  least  ten  minutes  each  day  in  assisting 
the  pupils  and  giving  such  directions  as  they  may  need.  When 
the  exercises  are  completed,  they  should  in  all  cases  be  exam- 
ined by  the  teacher.  Lessons  of  special  excellence  should 
receive  marks  of  credit,  and  failures  resulting  from  carelessness 
or  indifference,  should  receive  marks  of  error.  See  § 22. 

§ 28.  MORALS  AND  MANNERS.  See  § 7. 

§29.  VERSES  AND  MAXIMS. 

§ 30.  ANALYSIS  OF  SOUNDS. 

In  this  grade,  this  should  extend  no  farther  than  to  vowels 
and  single  consonants  as  a separate  exercise,  and  attention 
should  be  paid  mainly  to  clear  articulation  and  to  its  necessary 
attendant,  an  open  mouth.  See  §§  1, 17. 


EIGHTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Wild  animals ; secondary  colors;  plants  and  vegetables ; 
divisions  of  time  and  their  names. 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Reading  and  Spelling. — First  reader  read  and  reviewed,  with  particular 
attention  to  punctuation,  definitions  and  illustrations ; short  daily  drill  in 
enunciating  vowels,  consonants,  and  combinations  of  vowels  and  consonants ; 
spelling  the  columns  of  words,  and  words  selected  from  the  reading  lessons, 
both  by  letters  and  by  sounds. 

Drawing  and  Writing. — Two  or  more  exercises  a day  with  slate  and  pencil, 
or  paper  and  pencil,  and  printing  or  writing  lessons  in  spelling  and  arithmetic. 

Addition  and  Subtraction  Tables. — Exercises  in  adding  series  of  numbers  ; 
reading  and  writing  Roman  numerals  to  one  hundred,  forward,  backward 
and  irregularly. 

Singing. 

Physical  exercises  from  two  to  five  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  five  times 
a day. 

§ 31.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

Wild  Animals. — Much  that  was  said  under  the  head  of 
domestic  animals  in  the  ninth  grade  is  applicable  here.  A 
few  only  of  the  more  common  field  animals  should  be  treated 
of,  and  generally  such  as  children  have  some  opportunity  of 
seeing.  The  elephant,  the  camel,  the  deer,  the  bear,  the  tiger, 
the  fox,  the  rabbit,  the  eagle,  the  owl,  the  pigeon,  the  whale, 
the  shark,  the  alligator,  the  trout,  the  caterpillar,  the  bee,  the 


36 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


housefly,  and  the  mosquito  may  be  sufficient  examples.  Their 
peculiar  structure,  their  resemblances  to  domestic  animals,  their 
habits  of  living,  their  weapons  of  warfare,  the  modes  of  cap- 
ture, and  their  degrees  of  intelligence  should  be  learned.  Each 
teacher  may  extend  this  list  as  far  as  time  and  the  interest  of 
the  class  will  admit.  At  each  lesson  some  instructive  anecdote 
should  be  given,  and  the  same  should  be  called  for  at  the  next 
recitation.  ( 

Secondary  Colors. — These  are  violet,  indigo,  green  and 
orange.  The  first  two  are  composed  of  red  and  blue ; the 
third  of  yellow  and  blue,  and  the  last  of  red  and  yellow.  Any 
piece  of  glass  that  will  give  the  solar  spectrum  may  be 
brought  into  the  school  room,  and  the  child  may  point  out  the 
various  colors,  both  primary  and  secondary ; pieces  of  cloth 
or  of  paper  may  also  be  used  as  standards  to  which  objects 
may  be  applied  when  the  color  is  to  be  tested.  These  standards 
should  be  of  a decided  color.  But  little  time  should  be  spent 
in  this  grade  upon  the  color  of  objects  unless  it  approximates 
quite  near  to  some  one  of  the  seven  colors  already  given. 

Plants  and  Vegetables. — The  names  of  the  more  common 
garden  and  house  plants,  and  their  manner  of  growth,  their 
times  of  flowering,  etc.,  belong  to  this  grade.  All  garden  veg- 
etables, especially  such  as  are  esculents  may  be  discussed  as 
to  their  manner  of  growth,  from  the  first  sprouting  of  the  seed 
to  the  full  development  of  the  vegetable,  and  as  to  their  form, 
size,  color  and  parts. 

Divisions  of  Time. — This  should  include  the  year;  the  months 
and  their  names ; the  day  and  the  names  of  the  days  of  the 
week ; the  seasons,  their  names,  and  the  names  of  the  months 
in  each  season.  The  pupil  may  also  learn  something  of  the 
method  by  which  the  time  is  determined  by  the  clock.  See 
§ § 5,  24,  6. 

§ 32.  MORAL  AND  MANNERS. 

§ 33.  VERSES  AND  MAXIMS. 

§ 34.  READING. 

The  general  directions  and  the  directions  given  in  the  earlier 
grades  are  applicable  here.  See  §§  1,  17,  25. 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


37 


§ 35.  SPELLING. 

Let  the  children  spell  their  own  names ; the  name  of  the 
city ; State ; days  of  the  week  ; months  of  the  year.  These 
exercises  should  be  repeated  till  the  pupils  are  able  to  perform 
them  well.  See,  also,  § 2. 

§ 36.  ANALYSIS  OF  SOUNDS.  See  §§  17,  18,  30. 

§ 37.  DRAWING  AND  WRITING.  See  §§  4,  22,  23,  27. 

§ 38.  NUMBERS.  See  §§  3,  26. 

§ 39.  COUNTING. 

This  should  still  be  practiced  and  the  exercise  may  embrace 
counting  by  twos,  as  2,  4,  6,  etc.,  or  1,  3,  5,  etc.,  as  far  as  100. 
See  8 19. 


SEVENTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Trades,  tools  and  materials  ; lines  and  angles ; general 
classification  of  animals ; tints  and  shades. 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Reading  and  Spelling , — First  half  of  Second  Reader,  with  careful  attention 
to  punctuation,  illustrations  and  definitions ; short  daily  drill  in  enunciating 
difficult  combinations  of  consonants,  and  the  more  difficult  words  of  the 
reading  lessons  ; spelling,  both  by  letters  and  by  sounds,  half  through  mono- 
syllabic words  in  the  Speller  and  from  the  reading  lessons. 

Braving  and  Printing. — Two  or  more  lessons  a day  from  Drawing  Cards, 
when  they  can  be  obtained,  and  printing  and  writing  lessons  in  spelling. 

Multiplication  and  Division  Tables  — Through  5s ; Arabic  and  Roman 
Numerals  to  500  ; exercises  in  adding  and  subtracting  series  of  numbers. 

Singing. 

Physical  Exercises — From  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  five 

times  a day. 

§ 40.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

General  Glassification  of  Animals. — Following  the  prece-^ 
ding  grades  in  which  animals,  domestic  and  wild,  have  been 
considered,  it  is  desirable  that  children  should  be  taught  to 
classify  the  animals  about  which  they  have  learned,  and  here  is 
introduced  the  general  classification  into  beasts,  birds,  fishes, 
insects  and  reptiles.  The  animals  about  which  they  have 
already  learned  something  may  now  be  re-examined  with  refer- 
ence to  the  particular  class  to  which  they  belong,  and  other 
examples  of  each  of  these  classes  may  be  presented.  The 


38 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


distinguishing  features,  or  rather  such  as  are  most  readily- 
recognized  by  the  child  should  be  carefully  considered. 

Color . — Tints  and  shades  in  color,  naturally  follow  the  con- 
sideration of  the  primary  and  secondary  colors,  and  they  are 
placed  in  this  grade  for  a specific  and  for  a general  purpose  ; 
specific,  so  far  as  the  tints  and  shades  are  themselves  concerned, 
and  general,  inasmuch  as  it  affords  an  opportunity  for  the 
teacher  to  take  up  all  the  varieties  of  color  that  are  observed* 
assigning  each  to  some  one  of  the  general  divisions  of  color 
and  giving  to  each  some  name  that  will  best  designate  it.  As 
in  the  other  grades,  samples  should  be  arranged,  first  with 
reference  to  the  natural  order  of  colors,  and  secondly,  with 
reference  to  complementary  colors.  There  may  be  placed  also 
before  the  child  examples  of  colors  that  harmonize  and  suit 
each  other,  and  of  the  opposite,  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating 
the  taste. 

Trades , Tools  and  Materials. — In  calling  out  the  knowledge 
of  the  child  upon  this  topic,  such  trades  as  are  connected  with 
the  absolute  necessities  of  life  should  be  first  considered  ; first? 
because  the  most  important  and  then  because  these  afford  the 
most  abundant  facilities  for  observation.  Of  such  are  the 
trades  of  the  carpenter,  the  mason,  the  painter;  the  shoemaker, 
the  tailor,  the  milliner  ; the  blacksmith,  the  plumber,  the  tin- 
worker  ; the  farmer,  the  miller,  the  baker ; the  house-mover,  the 
sewer-builder,  the  cistern-maker,  etc.,  etc.  After  these  and 
other  more  common  trades,  should  come  such  as  are  engaged  in 
by  the  parents  of  the  children,  and  these  should  be  followed  by 
as  many  trades  as  the  teacher  finds  time  to  call  up.  The  names 
and  uses  of  the  several  tools  employed  by  each  tradesman,  and 
the  materials  wrought  upon,  with  the  articles  manufactured 
should  be  called  for.  By  way  of  review,  take  some  object,  the 
school  room  for  example,  and  inquire  how  many  tradesmen 
have  had  something  to  do  in  its  construction,  what  tools  and 
what  materials  they  used. 

Lines  and  Angles. — This  introduces  the  subject  of  Geometry. 
Great  care  must  be  taken  to  make  definitions  clear,  concise  and 
truthful.  The  meaning  and  application  of  the  terms,  straight , 
curved,  crooked,  horizontal , vertical  and  oblique , as  applied  to 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


39 


lines,  should  be  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the  child  by  many 
illustrations,  each  of  which  he  should  be  called  upon  to  repeat 
or  to  present  in  some  new  form. 

With  reference  to  angles,  the  terms,  acute , obtuse  and  right 
must  be  employed,  and  with  the  right  angle,  the  term  perpen- 
dicular should  be  explained.  While  the  terms  vertical  and 
perpendicular  are  in  some  respects  synonymous^  it  will  be  bet- 
ter for  the  child  that  he  be  taught  the  term  perpendicular  only 
in  connection  with  the  right  angle  when  two  lines  are  used,  for 
such  is  its  proper  use  in  Geometry.  A vertical  line  can  have 
but  one  direction,  and  that  is  toward  the  zenith.  A perpendic- 
ular line  may  be  either  vertical,  oblique  or  horizontal,  provided 
only  it  form  a right  angle  with  some  other  line. 

In  connection  with  their  Drawing,  the  children  may  have 
frequent  applications  of  the  terms  used  in  connection  with  this 
part  of  their  course.  See  §§  5,  16,  24,  31,  6. 

MORALS  AND  MANNERS.  See  § 7. 

DRAWING.  See  §§  22,  27. 

§ 41.  READING.  " 

The  practice  of  teaching  children  new  words  may  still  be 
continued,  provided  it  be  confined  to  words  that  they  are  to 
meet  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Reader.  See  §§  1,  17,  25. 

§ 42.  SPELLING. 

In  this  grade  the  child  is  introduced  to  the  use  of  the  Spell- 
ing Book.  When  the  lesson  is  assigned,  the  teacher  should 
carefully  pronounce  each  word  of  the  lesson  and  require  the 
class  to  repeat  it  in  concert,  having  their  attention  fixed  upon 
the  word,  so  that  when  the  word  is  studied  by  the  class  at  their 
seats,  no  incorrect  or  imperfect  pronunciation  shall  make  trouble 
when  the  recitation  comes.  See  §§  2,  18. 

§ 43.  NUMBERS. 

The  Multiplication  and  Division  Tables  may  easily  be  learned 
together  and  at  the  same  time.  When  the  child  learns  that 
four  times  five  is  twenty,  he  may  also  readily  learn  that  five  is 


40 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


contained  four  times  in  twenty.  Suppose  the  child  to  be  con- 
structing his  own  tables,  he  makes  five  marks,  and  then  five 
more,  and  so  on  until  he  has  four  sets  of  these  marks,  thus : 
IIIII,  IIIII,  IIIII,  mil.  When  he  counts  these  marks  and 
finds  twenty  of  them,  he  cannot  help  seeing  that  there  are  four 
fives  in  twenty.  Now,  let  him  take  five  times  four  in  the  same 
manner  and  he  will  not  only  multiply  four  by  five,  but  he  will 
also  learn  that  there  are  five  fours  in  twenty. 

By  way  of  review,  let  an  exercise  of  this  kind  be  given  : 


3X4= 
3X  =15 

X5=30 
Or,  this : 

X =20 
X =15 


2X2X4= 
2X  X2=12 
3X3X5= 


X =30 
X =40 


In  three  of  the  above  cases,  the  blanks  may  be  filled  by  more 
than  one  set  of  numbers,  without  going  beyond  what  the  grade 
requires,  as : 

2X10=20  5X6=30  5X8=40 

5X  4=20  3X10=30  4X10=40 

This  exercise  will  keep  children  well  employed  at  their  seats. 
See  §§  3,  6,  26. 


SIXTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Articles  eaten  and  worn  (distinguishing  foreign  from 
home  products)  ; plane  figures ; circle  and  its  parts ; flowers  and  fruits. 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Reading  and  Spelling. — Second  reader  completed  and  reviewed,  with  strict 
attention  to  punctuation,  definitions,  and  illustrations ; frequent  exercises 
in  enunciating  difficult  combinations  of  consonants,  and  of  the  more  difficult 
words  of  the  reading  lessons  ; spelling  both  by  letters  and  by  sounds,  with 
definitions  from  speller  through  monosyllables,  and  from  reading  lessons. 

Drawing  with  slate  and  pencil,  or  paper  and'pencil,  using  drawing  cards, 
cuts  from  other  books  and  other  copies ; writing  the  large  letters  of  the 
alphabet  in  plain  script  hand  ; also  words  from  reading  and  spelling  lessons. 

Elementary  Arithmetic  completed  through  the  12s  with  frequent  applica- 
tions and  illustrations  other  than  those  in  the  text  book  ; exercises  in  adding, 
subtracting,  multiplying  and  dividing  series  of  numbers  ; reading  and  writing 
Arabic  and  Roman  numerals  to  one  thousand. 

Abbreviations. 

Singing. 

Physical  Exercises  from  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  four 
times  a day. 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


41 


§ 44.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

Articles  Eaten  and  Worn. — The  more  common  articles  of 
food  and  of  apparel  are  first  to  be  taken  up,  and  after  these, 
if  time  permit,  the  less  common  and  the  luxuries.  Children 
will  need  a map  before  them  that  they  may  find  the  places 
from  which  the  articles  are  brought.  Special  pains  should  be 
taken  to  distinguish  home  from  foreign  products.  The  methods 
of  growth  and  the  preparation  needed  to  fit  articles  of  food 
for  the  table,  and  the  process  of  manufacture  of  articles  of 
wearing  apparel ; the  different  kinds  of  food  and  of  clothing 
suited  to  warm  and  to  cold  climates ; the  kinds  of  animals 
best  fitted  to  our  wants,  both  with  reference  to  food  and  to 
clothing ; the  articles  raised  and  manufactured  at  home  that 
are  sold  in  exchange  for  foreign  articles.  These  topics  should 
occupy  the  attention  of  the  children,  until  they  have  some 
knowledge  of  articles  found  upon  the  table  and  in  the  wardrobe. 

To  make  the  matter  more  definite,  it  will  be  sufficient  to 
treat  of  the  following  articles  of  food  and  of  apparel : 

Of  Food. — Different  kinds  of  flour  and  meal,  as  wheat,  rye, 
corn  and  oats,  and  the  modes  of  preparation  of  each  ; bread 
of  different  kinds,  and  how  made  ; butter  and  cheese  ; meats, 
as  beef,  pork,  mutton,  poultry,  fish,  how  prepared  for  market 
and  how  cooked  ; salted  meats  ; salt,  pepper,  ginger,  cinnamon, 
and  nutmegs ; sugars  of  different  kinds,  and  how  made ; tea, 
coffee,  and  chocolate ; lemons,  oranges,  pine  apples,  raisins, 
peanuts,  and  walnuts ; honey : candies  of  different  kinds. 

Of  Apparel. — Name  five  articles  each,  made  of  wool,  of 
cotton,  and  of  silk;  two  articles  made  of  flax;  difference 
between  common  flannels  and  dressed  woolen  goods ; difference 
between  muslin  and  calico ; different  modes  of  coloring  fabrics; 
how  silk,  cotton,  wool,  and  flax  are  prepared  for  wearing ; 
what  articles  are  made  from  leather,  and  how  leather  is  manu- 
factured ; what  articles  are  made  of  hair ; what  of  fur ; and 
how  hair  and  fur  are  prepared  for  use  as  articles  of  apparel. 

Fruits  and  Flowers. — Fruits  will  have  found  a place  among 
articles  eaten,  but  should  be  taken  up  again  in  connection  with 
flowers,  till  the  full  process  from  the  first  opening  of  the 


42 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


flower  to  the  perfection  of  the  fruit  is  understood.  The 
fruits  are  to  he  treated  as  containing  the  seeds,  or  as  the  seeds 
themselves,  that  will  bring  forth  other  flowers  and  fruits. 

In  discussing  flowers,  the  prominent  parts  of  the  flower 
should  be  shown,  and  their  names  and  uses  learned,  such  as 
stem,  calyx,  petals,  stamens,  pistils,  pollen,  and  seed  vessels. 
The  enlargement  of  the  seed-vessel,  as  in  the  apple,  pear,  etc., 
and  the  beautiful  illustration  of  the  use  of  pollen,  as  seen  in 
the  growth  of  corn,  especially  when  different  kinds  of  corn 
are  planted  near  each  other,  may  be  made  a profitable  study. 

Plane  Figures , the  Circle  and  its  Parts. — Extending  this 
exercise  from  the  seventh  grade,  the  following  figures  should 
be  described : equilateral,  isosecles,  scalene  and  right 

angled  triangles;  rectangles  (the  square  and  the  oblong); 
the  rhombus  and  the  trapezium ; the  circle,  circumference, 
arc,  diameter,  radius,  chord,  segment,  sector,  semi-circle, 
and  quadrant.  See  §§  5.  6. 

§ 45.  MORALS  AND  MANNERS,  See  § 7. 

§ 46.  DRAWING. 

In  addition  to  straight  line  drawing,  the  curve  should  be 
introduced,  and  exercises  should  be  given  combining  the 
figures  thus  far  learned.  See  §§  22,  2V. 

§ 47.  READING. 

During  the  time  of  this  grade,  the  novelty  of  reading  from 
a book  having  somewhat  worn  off,  special  care  must  be  exercised 
lest  the  pupils  fall  into  listless  unintelligent  reading.  There  is 
no  point  in  the  whole  course  where  there  is  a better  opportunity 
for  the  cultivation  of  good  habits,  and  at  the  same  time  where 
there  is  greater  danger  of  the  formation  of  bad  habits  in 
reading.  The  remarks  made  in  general  directions  apply  with 
peculiar  force  here.  See  § § 1,  7,  17,  25,  41. 

SPELLING,  See  § 2. 

§ 48.  NUMBERS. 

The  completion  of  the  multiplication  and  division  tables 
through  the  12s,  according  to  directions  for  seventh  grade, 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


43 


will  still  leave  much  time  for  the  miscellaneous  exercises 
assigned  to  this  grade.  These  should  be  as  extensive  and  as 
varied  as  the  ingenuity  of  the  teacher  will  admit.  A few 
suggestive  exercises  are  given  here  : What  is  the  difference 

between  six,  times  four,  and  ninety-six  divided  by  eight  ? and 
others  like  it.  Beginning  at  five  times  three,  count  by  threes 
or  fours  or  fives,  as  far  as  seven  times  eleven.  From  thirty- 
six  divided  by  four,  count  by  fives  till  you  reach  a point  nearest 
nine  times  seven.  An  almost  infinite  variety  of  such  exercises 
may  be  prepared  by  the  teacher  and  assigned  to  the  class. 

Such  exercises,  together  with  those  suggested  under  previous 
grades,  will  furnish  a constant  and  thorough  review  of  all  the 
tables. 

Children  may  also  count  by  fives  and  fours  alternately,  as 
1,  6,  10,  15,  19,  etc.,  or  by  twos,  threes  and  fours  alternately, 
as  2,  4,  1,  11,  13,  16,  20,  etc.  Exercises  in  adding  columns  of 
single  figures,  may  be  introduced  here  very  properly.  For 
this  purpose  columns  of  figures  may  be  placed  upon  the  board, 
or  children  may  prepare  the  columns  themselves.  Great  pains 
should  be  taken  to  secure  neatness  and  symmetry  in  the  struc- 
ture of  the  figures  written.  Pupils  should  be  taught  to  add  by 
giving  the  result  at  each  step.  If  the  following  be  the  example; 
s ] Pointing  to  1,  the  pupil  should  say,  “ one,”  and  then  at 

7 ! 2 he  should  say  “ three,”  and  at  7 he  should  say  “ ten,” 

2 j and  so  on,  and  not  after  this  fashion  : one  and  two  are 
J three,  and  seven  are  ten,  and  four  are  fourteen,  etc. 

Upon  the  writing  of  the  Arabic  and  Roman  numerals  no 
special  instruction  is  needed.  In  all  cases  pupils  should  be  able 
to  find  their  lessons  as  readily  by  the  lesson  as  by  the  page. 
See  §§  3,  6,  26,  43. 


49.  ABBREVIATIONS. 


These  must  be  memorized,  but  whenever  an  opportunity 
occurs  in  a reading  lesson  or  in  any  other  lesson,  a practical 
application  of  the  abbreviations  may  be  made  with  much 
profit. 


44 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


FIFTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Review  of  previous  grades ; weights  and  measures  ; 
rectangular  and  spherical  solids. 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Reading  and  Spelling. — First  half  of  Third  Reader  read  and  reviewed,  with 
close  attention  to  punctuation,  definitions  and  illustrations ; frequent  exer- 
cises in  enunciation  ; spelling,  both  by  letters  and  by  sounds  from  Speller 
half  through  dissyllabic  words,  and  from  reading  lessons. 

Sentence  Making. — Applying  rules  of  punctuation,  with  use  of  capitals. 

Drawing — With  slate  or  lead  pencil,  using  cuts  from  books,  drawing  cards 
and  other  copies. 

Writing — with  ink. 

Mental  Arithmetic — To  where  Arabic  characters  are  introduced ; exercises 
in  reading  and  writing  Arabic  numbers  to  1,000,000,  and  Roman  numerals 
to  2,000  ; exercises  in  combining  series  of  numbers. 

Abbreviations — reviewed. 

Singing. 

Primary  Geography — Through  the  United  States,  with  map  drawing. 

Declamations  and,  Recitations. 

Physical  Exercises — From  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  four 
times  a day. 

§ 50.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

lieview  of  Oral  Course  of  previous  grades. — This  review  is 
designed  to  be  general,  but  it  should  be  thorough.  Under 
three  different  heads  it  may  be  brought  up : 

1.  Animals;  their  classification,  their  parts,  the  form  and 
structure  of  each  of  the  classes,  their  modes  of  life,  their 
weapons  of  warfare  and  of  defence,  their  intelligence,  sagacity 
or  ferocity,  their  covering  or  clothing,  their  uses,  the  modes  of 
their  capture,  and  anecdotes  respecting  them. 

2.  Vegetables,  including  flowers,  plants,  shrubs  and  trees, 
grains  and  garden  vegetables,  their  method  of  growth  and  their 
uses,  the  uses  of  their  different  parts,  as ; roots,  stems,  leaves, 
etc.,  etc. 

3.  Miscellaneous,  (a,)  trades,  tools  and  materials.  This 
review  may  be  best  conducted  by  selecting  objects,  and 
learning  from  the  pupils  the  different  materials  used  in  their 
structure,  the  tools  employed  in  shaping  the  materials,  and  the 
different  tradesmen  employed  in  their  manufacture,  (b,)  Arti- 
cles eaten,  and  worn ; reviewed  by  visiting  in  imagination 
some  large  hotel  and  examining  the  food  eaten  by  its  guests, 
and  the  articles  of  dress  worn  by  them,  or  taking  real  and 


GEADED  COUESE  OF  INSTEUCTION. 


45 


common  life  as  seen  every  day  by  the  pupils,  (c,)  Lines, 
angles  and  figures,  reviewed  in  drawing  lessons,  or  in  exam- 
ining the  objects  of  the  school  room  as  to  their  form. 

This  review  may  be  connected  with  Sentence  Making. 

Weights  and  Measures. — The  child  will  here  be  required  to 
estimate  both  weights  and  measures.  Each  school  should  be 
furnished  with  standards  of  comparison,  so  that  the  accuracy 
of  the  child’s  knowledge  may  be  tested.  So  far  as  measures 
are  concerned,  the  most  convenient  standard  may  be  made  out 
of  a pointer,  by  putting  brass  tacks  with  small  heads  at  dis- 
tances of  one  inch,  three  inches,  six  inches,  nine  inches  or  one- 
quarter  yard,  one  foot,  one-half  yard  and  one  yard  from  the 
end,  or  small  sticks  of  various  lengths  may  be  used.  Children 
should  be  required  to  draw  lines  of  different  lengths  and  apply 
the  measure  after  they  have  been  drawn.  So  may  lines  or 
figures  of  certain  lengths  or  surfaces  be  divided  evenly  or 
unevenly,  always  applying  the  test  after  the  work  has  been  done. 

Spherical  and  Rectangular  Solids . — These  may  embrace  the 
sphere,  the  cylinder  and  the  cone  ; the  prism,  the  pyramid,  the 
cube  and  the  parallelopiped.  Further  than  these  there  seems 
but  little  necessity  for  carrying  the  exercise  until  Geometry  is 
studied  as  a science.  See  §§  5,  6,  16,  24,  31,  40,  44. 

§ 51.  READING,  See  §§  1,  46. 

§ 52.  SPELLING,  See  § 2. 

§ 53.  SENTENCE  MAKING. 

This  exercise  is  designed  as  introductory  to  the  written 
abstracts  and  reviews  that  are  commenced  in  the  Grammar 
Department,  and  even  here  it  may  be  associated  with  the 
review  of  the  oral  course.  See  § 50.  In  § 1 the  con- 
struction of  sentences  containing  selected  words  is  recom- 
mended. It  will  be  proper  to  extend  the  exercise  into  this 
grade,  and  require  written  sentences.  In  § 8 also,  upon 
composition  writing , suggestions  are  made  with  reference 
to  subjects  to  be  written  upon.  These  suggestions  are  renewed 
in  this  connection,  so  far  as  they  are  applicable.  In  brief  it  is 
not  always  or  even  generally  desirable  that  sentence  making 


46 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


should  be  practiced  for  its  own  sake  alone,  but  it  may  be  so 
connected  with  other  exercises  as  to  save  time  and  to  secure 
thoroughness  of  scholarship.  Punctuation,  use  of  capitals 
and  spelling  should  receive  special  attention  in  this  exercise. 
See  § 6. 

§ 54.  DRAWING. 

Beside  the  use  of  drawing  cards,  etc.,  children  should  be 
taught  to  sketch  all  the  solids  presented  in  the  oral  course. 

§ 55.  WRITING. 

The  use  of  the  pen  is  first  required  in  this  grade.  The 
points  to  be  attended  to  are,  the  kind  of  pen  used,  the 
manner  of  holding  the  same,  the  precautions  to  be  taken 
against  soiling  the  fingers  and  blotting  the  paper,  and  the 
cleaning  of  the  pen  after  its  use.  Each  pupil  should  have  a 
small  piece  of  paper,  upon  which  to  try  the  pen  before  writing, 
also  a blotter  to  keep  under  the  hand  while  writing  so  that  the 
paper  may  not  become  oily  by  the  frequent  passing  of  the 
hand  over  it.  To  secure  neatness  and  uniformity,  the  teacher 
should  direct  all  the  movements  of  the  class  in  writing,  requiring 
all  to  write  the  same  words  at  the  same  time,  and  allowing  no 
rambling  writing.  If  a pupil  is  absent  upon  any  day  set  for 
writing,  his  book  will  show  a complete  blank  for  that  day. 
The  teacher  may  or  may  not  give  him  permission  to  make  up 
his  loss,  as  the  circumstances  attending  his  absence  may 
warrant.  See  § 4. 

§ 56.  NUMBERS. 

A text-book  in  mental  arithmetic  is  here  introduced  for  the 
first  time.  Its  proper  use  will  be  a topic  for  the  teacher’s 
instruction.  As  the  exercise  is  purely  a mental  exercise,  it  is 
not  well  to  allow  the  use  of  a book  at  recitation.  See  § 3. 

It  is  also  designed  that  pupils  in  this  grade  learn  enough  of 
notation  and  of  numeration  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  readily 
any  numbers  as  far  as  1,000,000.  Frequent  exercises  should 
be  given  in  this,  both  upon  the  board  and  upon  the  slate. 
When  numbers  are  given  for  writing,  a few  may  write  upon 
the  board,  while  all  others  write  upon  their  slates.  Columns 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


47 


of  figures  may  be  placed  upon  the  board  that  pupils  may 
practice  addition  of  numbers  of  two  or  more  figures ; also 
simple  exercises  in  subtraction. 

The  Roman  numerals  need  not  be  carried  beyond  2,000,  but 
the  principles  that  underlie  the  arrangement  of  the  letters  used, 
should  be  taught  and  mastered.  To  test  the  accuracy  of  the 
child’s  knowledge  of  these  principles  many  examples  may  be 
given  even  unlike  those  found  in  actual  practice.  See  §§  4, 
26,  43,  48. 

§ 57.  GEOGRAPHY  AND  MAP  DRAWING. 

The  facts  of  geography  should  be  made  attractive  by  many 
and  simple  illustrations.  After  a rain  storm  there  may  be  found 
in  the  school  yard  miniature  representations  of  islands,  capes, 
bays,  rivers,  isthmuses,  straits,  peninsulas,  etc.,  etc.  The 
child’s  capacity  to  estimate  distances  should  be  cultivated,  so 
that  he  may  expand  the  little  miniature  world  before  him  in 
the  playground  into  the  real  world. 

Map  drawing  should  be  confined  to  imitations  of  the  maps 
before  him,  and  credit  should  be  given  for  a neat  map  of  good 
proportions  without  reference  to  the  scale  upon  which  it  is 
drawn.  The  scale  should  be  determined  by  the  size  of  the 
paper,  or  of  the  slate  used.  It  is  better,  however,  to  enlarge 
than  to  diminish  the  scale  of  the  map  used  as  a copy,  provided 
only  that  proper  proportions  be  preserved. 

In  connection  with  this  exercise  let  the  following  course  be 
pursued  in  addition  to  what  was  given  under  the  head  of 
measures  in  the  oral  course  for  this  grade  : 

1.  At  a given  signal  let  every  member  of  the  class  draw  on 
the  blackboard  or  slate  a continuous  straight  line,  of  any 
length,  and  in  any  direction ; a second  ; a third  ; a fourth  ; a 
fifth.  In  the  same  manner,  let  five  dotted  lines  be  drawn.  At 
successive  signals,  let  all  the  pupils  place  ten  points  on  the  slate 
or  blackboard,  without  any  reference  to  each  other.  Now  let 
all  the  pupils  draw  a straight  line  between  any  two  of  these 
points.  This  exercise  should  be  continued,  at  successive 
signals,  till  all  the  points  are  connected. 

2.  The  second  exercise  consists  in  making  the  pupils  familiar 


48 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


with  the  smaller  units  of  length,  which  may  be  done  by  the 
use  of  the  common  foot  measure.  Let  the  class,  at  a given 
signal,  draw  lines  one  foot  in  length,  and  teacher  and  pupils 
test  the  accuracy  of  the  work  by  applying  the  standard.  After 
successful  trials,  represent  combinations  of  the  standard  in 
lines  of  two  and  three  feet.  Now  let  the  pupils  apply  these 
units  to  space  and  objects  in  the  room. 

Again,  let  the  pupils  draw  lines  one  foot  in  length,  and  divide 
each  line  into  two  equal  parts  ; each  of  these  parts  into  two 
other  equal  parts,  continuing  the  division  till  the  line  has  been 
divided  into  inches.  Having  a clear  idea  of  the  above  units, 
assume  points  at  the  distance  of  an  inch,  a foot,  two  feet,  and 
a yard,  and  let  them  be  connected  first  by  continuous  lines, 
and  afterward  by  dotted  lines. 

3.  Let  the  pupils  draw  straight  lines,  of  given  lengths,  in 
different  directions,  as  vertical,  horizontal,  and  oblique.  These 
terms  may  be  illustrated  by  reference  to  the  walls  and  floor  of 
the  school  room. 

4.  The  class  should  be  required  to  combine  straight  lines  in 
the  formation  of  triangles — right,  acute  and  obtuse  angled — 
quadrilaterals,  and  other  rectilinear  figures.  After  the  first 
figure  is  drawn,  other  similar  figures  may  be  inscribed  or 
circumscribed  at  given  distances. 

5.  Draw  curves  and  parallel  curves  of  different  degrees  of 
curvature,  and  at  different  distances. 

6.  Around  a given  point,  as  a centre,  at  a distance  of  one 
inch,  let  a circumference  be  drawn.  Around  the  same  center, 
at  the  distance  of  .two  inches,  a second  circumference  ; at  the 
distance  of  three  inches,  a third.  In  this  manner  let  successive 
circumferences  be  drawn  until  the  distance  from  the  center  to 
the  last  is  twelve  inches.  The  exercise  may  be  varied  by 
increasing  or  diminishing  the  distances. 

7.  Let  the  above  exercise  be  reversed. 

8.  The  division  of  straight  lines  into  equal  parts  by  the 
application  of  a given  scale,  which  should  be  represented  on 
the  board  by  each  pupil. 

9.  The  representation  of  the  axes,  poles,  parallels,  meridians, 
and  zones  of  spheres  of  different  diameters, 


GEADED  COUESE  OF  INSTEUCTION. 


49 


FOURTH  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction. — Kinds  and  properties  of  matter ; laws  of  motion  ; Na- 
tional Flag ; National  and  State  coats  of  arms ; metals  and  minerals  ; His- 
torical sketches  (King  Philip,  Columbus,  Cortez,  Pocahontas,  W shington, 
Franklin.) 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Primary  Geography — Completed  and  reviewed,  with  map  drawing. 

Construction  of  Sentences  with  oral  lessons  in  English  Grammar. 

Third  Reader  completed,  with  close  attention  to  punctuation,  definitions, 
illustrations,  and  to  elementary  sounds. 

Written  and  Oral  Spelling , with  definitions  from  speller  through  dissyllables, 
and  from  reading  lessons. 

Drawing. 

Singing. 

Writing. 

Mental  Arithmetic , from  5th  Grade  half  through  to  Tables. 

Slate  Arithmetic  to  fractions ; exercises  in  combining  series  of  numbers. 

Declamations  and  Recitations. 

Physical  Exercises , from  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  three 
times  a day. 


§ 58.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

j Kinds  and  Properties  of  Matter. — Define  and  illustrate  the 
three  general  classes  of  matter ; solids,  liquids  and  gases.  Define 
and  illustrate  their  essential  properties ; extension,  impenetra- 
bility, weight  or  gravity,  and  divisibility.  A few  other  promi- 
nent properties  of  matter,  such  as  elasticity,  malleability, 
ductility,  etc.,  should  be  illustrated.  Inertia  should  be  quite 
fully  discussed  and  its  laws  thoroughly  understood. 

Laws  of  Motion. — Attention  should  be  given  mainly  to  the 
laws  of  falling  bodies ; to  the  effects  produced  on  the  motion  of 
bodies  acted  upon  by  more  than  a single  force ; to  the  cen- 
tripetal and  centrifugal  forces  ; and  to  the  manifold  cases  of 
resultant  motion  found  in  all  cases  of  sailing  a boat,  flying  a 
kite,  rowing,  flying,  swimming,  etc.,  etc. 

Metals  and  Minerals. — What  is  the  difference  between  a 
metal  and  a mineral  ? Which  are  the  precious  metals  ? Which 
the  most  useful  of  the  metals?  Which  the  heaviest?  Which 
is  a fluid  ? 

Object  lessons  on  iron,  zinc,  tin,  copper,  lead,  mercury,  silver, 
gold ; on  steel,  brass,  pewter,  etc. 

Of  mineral  substances,  the  more  common  may  be  presented, 
4 


50 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


and  object  lessons  given  upon  lime,  chalk,  sand,  clay,  coal,  peat, 
bricks,  gravel  and  some  of  the  stones  used  by  jewelers,  etc. 

National  and  State  Goats  of  Arms. — This  topic  will  be  con- 
fined to  the  coats  of  arms  of  the  United  States  and  of  Illinois, 
their  form,  design  and  meaning. 

The  National  Flag. — Its  history,  design  and  significance. 

Historical  Sketches. — It  is  not  desirable  in  these  sketches, 
that  all  the  points  touched  by  historians  be  brought  out.  In 
the  sketches  given  of  individuals,  let  the  following  points  be 
made  prominent : when  and  where  born,  early  advantages  and 
how  improved,  early  trials  and  how  overcome,  one  or  two  anec_ 
dotes  of  early  history  that  have  had  a marked  bearing  upon 
the  life  of  the  man,  what  noteworthy  acts  have  rendered  the 
character  famous  ? what  traits  of  character  are  worthy  of  our 
imitation  ? where  and  when  did  they  die  ? 

Under  the  head  of  early  advantages  or  early  trials,  will  come 
the  home  influences,  the  school  privileges  and  the  associates  of 
the  child.  Such  facts  should  be  gathered  as  would  naturally 
interest  children,  and  awaken  just  enough  curiosity  to  lead 
the  child  to  seek  for  further  information  in  the  histories 
within  his  reach.  The  child  should  be  made  to  feel  that  the 
individual,  whose  character  he  studies,  had  a real  and  a human 
existence  ; that  he  was  like  men  now-a-days  in  many,  if  not  all 
respects,  and  that  a re-production  of  the  same  character  though 
living  in  different  times,  and  of  course  doing  different  things, 
is  possible.  There  are  boys  living  who  will  bear  the  same 
relation  to  the  times  in  which  they  live,  as  did  Columbus,  Cor- 
tez, Washington  or  Franklin  to  the  times  in  which  they  lived. 
They  will  not  do  the  same  things,  but  they  may  do  things  as 
important.  See  §§  5,  6. 

§ 59.  GEOGRAPHY,  WITH  MAP  DRAWING. 

See  § 57,  and  in  extending  the  rules  there  laid  down  for  Map 
Drawing,  the  following  will  be  serviceable  for  this  grade  : 

1.  Representation  of  familiar  surfaces,  with  objects  on  them, 
as  the  school  room,  play-grounds  and  fields. 

2.  Representation  of  mountains. 

3.  Representation  of  rivers. 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


51 


4.  Representation  of  coast  lines. 

All  the  foregoing  exercises  should  be  repeated  till  a high 
degree  of  accuracy  and  rapidity  is  secured.  It  is  important 
that  the  first  nine  exercises  should  be  performed  similtaneously 
by  all  the  members  of  the  class. 

In  the  progress  of  every  successive  lesson,  the  teacher  should 
call  in  the  aid  of  association,  by  naming  the  products  and  sta- 
ple commodities  of  the  several  States,  historical  facts,  remark- 
able curiosities,  high  mountains,  manufactories,  etc.,  occasion- 
ally naming  each  separately.  Say : — this  is  a lumber  State, 
this  is  a wheat  State,  cotton  State,  sugar,  tobacco,  rice,  etc. 
Here  is  gold,  lead,  iron,  etc.  Then  pointing,  review  interroga- 
tively— what  State  ? its  capital,  rivers,  mountains  ? What 
productions  here  ? What  is  this  ? This  ? etc. 

§ 60.  READING.  See  §§  1,  46. 

§ 61 . SPELLING.  See  § 2. 

§ 62.  WRITING.  See  §§  55, 4. 

§ 63.  MENTAL  ARITHMETIC.  See  §§  3,  43,  56. 

§ 64.  WRITTEN  ARITHMETIC. 

As  stated  in  a previous  section,  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the 
path  of  a pupil  is,  to  acquire  facility  in  the  application  of 
principles  learned  to  examples  of  varied  form  and  phraseology. 
The  teacher  should  therefore  study  to  present  examples  in 
great  variety  of  form,  still  involving  the  principle  underlying 
the  lesson.  Questions  should  be  varied  in  form,  even  though 
the  same  answer  be  required,  until  the  pupil  forgets  formulas 
and  lays  fast  hold  of  principles.  This  will  require  time, 
patience  and  a great  deal  of  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher.  Pupils  should  always  receive  some  credit  for  correct 
analysis  and  correct  reasoning,  even  if  the  answer  be  wrong. 
It  is  better  to  have  correct  reasoning  and  a WTong  answer,  than 
correct  answers  with  no  reasoning  at  alb  The  best  thing  of 
all  is,  correct  answers  obtained  by  a correct  process  of  reason- 
ing. The  process  by  which  the  result  is  to  be  obtained  should 
be  called  for  frequently  during  a recitation  ; and  in  all  cases 


52 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


where  a new  example  is  given,  some  pupil  of  the  class  should 
be  required  to  give  the  process  of  solution.  The  thorough 
training  of  pupils  in  the  earlier  stages  of  study,  especially  in 
mathematics,  saves  much  time  in  the  future.  See  §§  13,  6,  56. 


THIRD  GRADE. 

Oral  Instruction — Air,  water  ; respiration,  circulation,  digestion  ; National 
and  State  Governments ; seven  wonders  of  the  world ; historical  sketches 
(Socrates,  Caesar,  Mohammed,  Cromwell,  Peter  the  Great.) 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Geography  through  Western  States,  with  map  drawing. 

First  half  Fifth  Reader  with  punctuation,  definitions,  illustrations  and  ele- 
mentary sounds. 

Written  and  Oral  Spelling,  with  definitions  from  speller  through  trisyllables. 

Writing. 

Singing. 

Mental  Arithmetic  to  tables. 

Grammar  through  pronouns,  with  lessons  in  the  use  of  language  to  follow 
oral  exercises  in  Grammar. 

Written  Arithmetic — From  fractions  through  the  book ; exercises  in  com- 
bining series  of  numbers. 

Declamations  and  recitations. 

Physical  Exercises,  from  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  three 
times  a day. 

§ 65.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

Air  and  Water. — Component  elements  of  air ; of  water. 
Proportion  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen  in  the  air.  Relation  of 
oxygen  to  life ; to  combustion  ; most  abundant  of  all  known 
substances.  Properties  of  nitrogen  ; of  hydrogen  ; weight  of 
hydrogen. 

Four  or  more  lessons  on  the  common  properties  and  uses  of 
water.  Hard  and  soft  water  ; water  of  the  ocean,  etc. 

Simple  experiments  illustrating  the  pressure  of  the  air,  may 
be  performed  in  the  presence  of  the  class.  Fill  a tumbler 
perfectly  full  of  water,  place  over  its  top  a piece  of  writing  paper, 
larger  than  the  top  of  the  tumbler,  and  then  pressing  down 
the  palm  of  the  hand  upon  the  paper,  raise  and  invert  the 
tumbler  and  remove  the  hand;  the  pressure  of  the  air  upward  will 
prevent  the  water  from  falling  out.  Take  a quarter  of  a dollar 
or  any  metal  of  like  shape,  cut  a piece  of  paper  of  the  same 
size,  and  holding  them  apart  from  each  other,  drop  them  to  the 
floor,  the  metal  will  fall  quickest ; but  place  the  paper  exactly 


GRADED  COURSE  OP  INSTRUCTION. 


53 


upon  the  metal  and  let  them  drop,  they  will  fall  in  the  same 
time,  the  money  having  removed  the  pressure  of  the  air  from 
beneath  the  paper.  A glass  tube  may  be  placed  in  water  and 
the  mouth  applied  to  the  upper  end,  by  drawing  in  the  air  the 
water  will  rise,  owing  to  the  downward  pressure  of  the  air 
upon  the  water  outside  the  tube.  Take  a bent  tube,  fill  it 
with  water,  and  close  one  end  with  the  thumb  while  the 
effort  is  made  to  draw  up  the  water  at  the  other  end,  and  the 
effort  will  prove  futile  until  the  thumb  be  removed.  Insert  an 
open  tube  in  a vessel  of  w*ater,  and  closing  the  upper  end 
with  the  thumb  remove  the  tube,  and  the  water  will  remain  in 
the  tube. 

Respiration,  Circulation , and  Digestion . Very  much 

instruction  upon  the  laws  of  hygiene  should  be  given  at  all 
times  throughout  the  entire  course.  Here,  as  elsewhere, 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the  posture  of  children,  to  their 
cleanliness,  to  their  habits  of  dress,  of  eating,  and  of  sleeping. 
But  in  this  grade  special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  organs 
of  Respiration , Circulation , and  Digestion;  the  lungs,  the 
heart,  the  stomach,  and  the  following  more  specific  topics : 
mastication,  the  teeth,  saliva,  digestion,  chyme,  chyle,  nutri- 
tion, the  blood,  blood-vessels,  structure  and  office  of  the  heart, 
circulation  of  the  blood  through  the  system,  impurities,  waste 
of  the  system,  how  repaired,  proper  and  improper  food,  eating 
too  much,  too  fast,  too  often,  late  in  the  evening,  irregularity 
of  meals,  dyspepsia,  alcoholic  drinks. 

Structure  and  office  of  the  lungs,  respiration,  capacity  of  the 
lungs,  exercises  for  their  healthy  development,  obstructed 
action,  dangerous  habits  of  bending  over  desks,  process  of 
purifying  the  blood,  different  colors ; carbonic  acid  of  the 
breath,  how  formed,  amount,  composition  of  carbonic  acid, 
weight,  relation  to  life,  experiment  of  a lighted  candle  in  air 
that  has  been  held  in  the  lungs  a few  seconds,  carbonic  acid  in 
wells,  burning  charcoal  in  a close  room,  carbonic  acid  in  the 
stomach,  soda  fountains,  raising  bread ; ventilation,  inhalation 
of  gas  and  its  deleterious  effects. 

Seven  Wonders  of  the  Age.—*(  1)  Egyptian  pyramids ; (2) 


54 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


Mausoleum  erected  by  Artemisia ; (3)  Colossus  at  Rhodes  ; (4) 
Statue  of  Jupiter  Olympus;  (5)  Pharos  at  Alexandria;  (6) 
Wall  and  Hanging  Gardens  of  Babylon  ; (7)  Temple  of  Diana 
at  Ephesus.  Some  brief  account  of  each  of  these  should  be 
given,  and  a longer  account  of  1,  6 and  7. 

National  and  State  Governments. — The  following  topics 
should  be  presented:  1,  the  executive  branch  ; name,  mode 

of  election,  and  length  of  time  of  office.  2,  the  legislative 
branch  ; the  two  divisions  ; their  names  ; modes  of  election  of 
members  of  each,  and  time  of  service  of  each.  3,  judicial 
branch  ; the  names  and  relation  of  the  different  courts  to  each 
other. 

Historical  Sketches.  See  § 58. 

§ 66.  GEOGRAPHY  AND  MAP  DRAWING. 

In  addition  to  instructions  given  upon  the  subject  of  map 
drawing  for  other  and  lower  grades,  the  following  suggestions 
are  valuable  : 

Select  a county  or  State  having  regular  outlines.  Select  a 
scale  with  some  convenient  unit  of  measure.  After  determining 
the  position  of  the  cardinal  points,  draw  dotted  lines  at  right 
angles  to  each  other,  one  representing  the  central  meridian, 
the  other  the  central  parallel.  Apply  the  scale  to  the  meridian 
as  many  times  as  the  distance  represented  by  it  is  contained 
in  the  distance  between  the  north  and  south  points  of  the 
country  to  be  drawn.  Through  the  points  of  division,  draw 
dotted  lines  at  right  angles  to  the  meridian,  which  will  represent 
parallels  of  latitude.  Apply  in  like  manner  to  the  central 
parallel,  such  part  of  the  scale  as  a degree  of  longitude  is  of  a 
degree  of  latitude.  Through  the  points  of  division  draw 
dotted  lines  at  right  angles  to  the  parallel.  These  will  represent 
meridians.  Designate  the  parallels  and  meridians  by  numbers 
expressing  the  position  of  points  or  places  through  which 
they  pass,  learned  from  an  atlas. 

The  frame  of  the  map  being  complete,  represent  by  dots  the 
prominent  points  of  the  boundary,  the  latitude  and  longitud 
of  which  have  been  previously  learned.  Having  fixed  in  the 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


55 


mind  the  nature  and  direction  of  the  boundary  line,  it  should 
be  drawn  wholly  from  memory.  The  boundary  completed, 
the  most  prominent  natural  features  should  be  represented. 

The  pupil  now  has  before  him  a map  of  his  own  construction, 
in  which  he  cannot  fail  to  be  interested. 

The  use  of  the  globe  should  be  introduced  in  this  connection, 
showing  the  rotundity  of  the  earth,  rotation  on  its  axis,  day 
and  night,  poles,  equator,  parallels  of  latitude,  meridians  of 
longitude,  tropics,  polar  circles,  zones,  points  of  the  compass 
at  any  given  place,  the  continents,  oceans,  and  relative  position 
of  places,  situation  of  the  United  States,  of  Illinois,  of  Chicago, 
and  relative  size  of  each. 

Similar  illustrations  should  be  constantly  given  with  the 
globe  in  connection  with  the  recitations  from  the  text-book, 
and  no  definition  should  be  passed  by  till  the  teacher  has 
satisfactory  evidence  that  the  pupils  understand  clearly  the 
object  described. 

Lessons  in  geography  should  be  accompanied  by  brief 
historical  sketches  of  important  events  connected  with  the 
different  countries,  and  by  some  allusions  to  ancient  geography, 
and  the  changes  through  which  the  countries  have  passed  in 
their  governments,  boundaries,  etc. 

One  of  the  most  common  faults  in  teaching  geography  is 
the  practice  of  requiring  pupils  to  learn  the  names  of  a large 
number  of  unimportant  places,  the  exact  population  of  unim- 
portant cities,  etc,,  etc.  See  §§  57,  59. 

§ 67.  READING,  See  §§  1,  47. 

§ 68.  SPELLING,  See  § 2. 

§ 69.  MENTAL  ARITHMETIC,  See  §§  3,  48,  56. 

§ 70.  GRAMMAR,  See  §§  6,  8,  53. 

The  text-book  is  introduced  into  this  grade  for  the  first 
time.  It  is  not  desirable  that  all  the  critical  observations 
pertaining  to  the  science  should  be  studied  by  the  pupil,  at 
least  not  until  a later  period  when  the  whole  subject  is  reviewed. 
Practice  is  worth  more  than  precept  in  this  study.  Hence 


56 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


illustrative  exercises  of  the  rules  given,  especially  in  connection 
with  the  errors  noticed  in  the  everyday  conversation  of  the 
children,  will  be  of  great  value.  Beside  the  words  given  in 
the  grammar,  many  other  words  of  common  use  should  be 
declined,  conjugated,  or  compared,  until  the  pupil  forms  the 
habit  of  correct  language.  If  the  study  of  grammar  be 
extended  so  that  what  is  learned  then,  is  applied  to  all  the 
speaking  and  writing  of  the  child,  it  will  be  less  dry  and  more 
valuable.  Every  recitation  should  include  the  use  of  language. 


Oral  Course. — Electricity  and  magnetism,  sound ; light ; heat ; historical 
sketches  (Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Tell,  Webster,  Calhoun  and  Clay.) 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Grammar  to  rules  of  syntax. 

Compositions , Abstracts  and  Written  Reviews. 

Geography , to  Asia  and  reviewed. 

Map  Drawing  from  memory. 

History  of  the  United  States  to  the  Revolution. 

Fifth  Reader  completed,  with  punctuation,  definitions,  illustrations  and 
elementary  sounds. 

Written  and  Oral  Spelling , with  definitions  from  speller,  half  through  poly- 
syllabic words  and  from  reading  lessons. 

Writing. 

Singing. 

Mental  Arithmetic  completed. 

Slate  Arithmetic , from  beginning  through  simple  interest ; exercises  in 
combining  series  of  numbers. 

Declamations  and  Recitations. 

Physical  Exercises , from  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  three 
times  a day. 


Historical  Sketches. — See  § 58. 

Electricity  and  Magnetism. — Illustrate  the  production  of 
electricity,  and  properties  of  attraction  and  repulsion,  by  a 
rubber  ruler  rubbed  briskly  with  apiece  of  woolen  cloth.  Con- 
ductors and  non-conductors,  lightning  and  lightning  conductors, 
Franklin’s  kite. 

Properties  of  the  magnet.  Magnetic  needle,  mariner’s  com- 
pass, horseshoe  magnet,  telegraph. 


SECOND  GRADE. 


§ 12.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


57 


Upon  these  topics  what  is  needed  is  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  child  to  the  phenomena  of  nature,  and  to  draw  the  lessons 
from  these  rather  than  from  any  scientific  treatise.  In  the  matter 
of  electricity,  the  flying  apart  of  the  hair  when  combed  briskly 
in  cold  weather,  the  effect  of  water  in  making  it  smooth,  the 
effects  of  strokes  of  lightning  upon  objects  that  the  children 
have  seen ; and  in  magnetism  the  use  of  the  magnetic  tack 
hammer,  the  effect  of  a magnet  as  shown  upon  a little  pocket 
compass,  etc.,  etc.,  will  interest  and  profit  the  pupils  more  than 
merely  scientific  treatises.  What  is  done , is  first  to  be  learned. 
The  theories  regarding  the  methods  may  be  neglected  until  the 
science  is  studied  more  fully. 

t Sound . — How  produced.  Illustrate  by  stretched  cord  or 
some  other  vibrating  body.  Action  on  the  ear.  High  and  low 
sounds — how  produced.  Relation  of  the  air  to  sound.  Veloc- 
ity of  sound.  The  human  voice.  Varieties  of  the  human 
voice.  Name  twenty  different  kinds  of  sounds.  Echoes ; 
whispering  gallery ; ear-trumpet.  Musical  instruments  ; bells. 

Light. — Luminous  bodies.  Velocity  of  light.  Difference 
between  the  light  of  the  sun  and  that  of  the  moon.  Laws  of 
reflection ; mirrors.  Refraction ; experiment  with  a piece  of 
money  in  a bowl  of  water.  Action  of  the  microscope  and 
telescope.  Solar  spectrum  ; rainbow.  Structure  and  action  of 
the  eye.  Danger  of  injuring  the  eyes  from  excessive  use ; 
from  imprudent  exposure  to  light ; from  reading  in  twilight ; 
from  reading  fine  print.  Danger  of  allowing  young  children 
to  look  steadily  at  a light.  Average  distance  at  which  a book 
should  be  held  from  the  eye  ; effect  of  holding  a book  too  near 
the  eye.  How  cats  and  other  animals  see  in  the  night.  Cause 
of  color.  Twilight. 

Heat. — In  expanding  the  following  topics,  explain  and  apply 
the  principles,  and  illustrate  them  as  far  as  practicable. 
Sources  of  heat ; sensations  of  heat  and  cold ; burning-glasses  ; 
good  and  poor  conductors  ; different  kinds  of  clothing ; double 
windows  ; ice  houses ; use  of  a fan  ; protection  of  the  ground 
by  snow.  Contraction  and  expansion  ; putting  tire  on  a wheel; 
fire  balloons;  thermometer;  glass  cracked  by  hot  water ; why 
clocks  go  faster  in  cold  weather  than  in  Warm ; how  to  regulate 


58 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


a pendulum  clock  when  it  gains  or  loses  time ; freezing  water ; 
heat  absorbed  by  change  from  solid  to  liquid  state,  and  from 
liquid  to  gaseous  ; freezing  mixture  of  salt  and  ice  ; cooling  a 
heated  room  by  sprinkling  water  on  the  floor.  Boiling  water  ; 
how  the  force  of  steam  is  produced.  Flame — how  produced 

Carbon.  Flame  of  a candle — why  no  combustion  in  the  centre  > 
wick — why  not  consumed  ; use  of  circular  wick  in  astral  and 
solar  lamps ; use  of  glass  chimney ; of  small  hole  in  top  of 
lamp  ; gas  used  in  lighting  buildings  ; use  of  a blower  in  kind- 
ling a fire  ; action  of  a common  chimney ; proper  construction ; 
advantages  of  stoves  as  compared  with  open  fire-places,  dis- 
advantages. 

§ *73.  GRAMMAR.  See  §§  6,  70. 

§ 74.  COMPOSITIONS.  See  § 8. 

§ 75.  ABSTRACTS  AND  WRITTEN  REVIEWS.  See  § 10. 

§ 76.  GEOGRAPHY. 

One  of  the  best  modes  of  reciting  history,  geography,  etc., 
is  by  the  use  of  topics.  Thus,  in  geography,  a pupil  passes  to 
an  outline  map,  drawn  on  the  blackboard,  with  a set  of  topics 
in  his  hand,  as  boundaries,  rivers,  mountains,  climate,  surface, 
soil,  productions,  commerce,  etc.,  and  proceeds  to  describe  the 
country  assigned,  stating  all  he  recollects  under  each  topic. 
When  his  description  is  completed,  other  members  of  the  class 
are  called  on  for  corrections  and  additions,  and  the  teacher 
makes  such  suggestions  as  the  case  may  require.  This  mode 
of  reciting  by  topics  leaves  the  pupils  in  a great  degree  to  their 
own  resources,  secures  a more  thorough  and  systematic  prepa- 
ration of  the  lessons,  and  furnishes  important  aid  in  imparting 
that  discipline  of  mind  which  is  more  valuable  than  knowledge. 
It  will  be  found  particularly  adapted  to  reviews. 

Map  Drawing . — See  §§  57,  6(3,  and  in  addition,  note  care- 
fully the  following  illustration.  The  pupils  are  required  to 
draw  a map  of  Europe,  the  most  irregular  and  difficult  of  all 
the  grand  divisions.  The  pupils  having  been  carefully  drilled 
in  the  application  of  latitude  and  longitude,  and  in  the  relative 
length  of  a degree  of  longitude  in  different  latitudes,  the  fol- 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


59 


lowing  prominent  points  in  the  boundaries  of  Europe  should 
be  written  by  the  teacher  on  the  blackboard  and  copied  by  the 
pupils  into  a blank  book  for  preservation,  to  be  committed  to 
memory  in  lessons  of  five  or  ten  each,  according  to  the  ability 
of  the  class.  Commencing  at 

Lat.  Lon. 


North  Cape 

. .71° 

N. 

26° 

E, 

The  Naze 

. .58 

a 

7 

a 

Tornea 

. .66 

tt 

24 

tt 

St.  Petersburg 

..60 

a 

30 

tt 

Lubeck 

a 

11 

<( 

Mouth  of  the  Elbe 

a 

9 

a 

Brest 

. .48 

ec 

4* 

w. 

Bayonne 

tt 

12 

(C 

Ortegal 

..44 

tt 

8 

tt 

Straits  of  Gibraltar 

. .36 

a 

5 

a 

Genoa 

..441 

tt 

9 

E. 

Cape  Spartivento 

..38 

<( 

16 

<< 

Venice 

a 

12 

a 

Cape  Matapan 

. .36 

a 

22 

ii 

Constantinople 

tt 

29 

tt 

Sebastopol 

..44 

tt 

33 

tt 

Intersection  of  Caucasus  Mountains  and 

Caspian  Sea 

..404. 

a 

50 

it 

Northeast  point  of  Ural  Mountains . . 

. .67 

tt 

60 

it 

Mouth  of  Ural  River 

..47 

a 

52 

ti 

Mouth  of  Volga  River 

..46 

tt 

48 

it 

The  above  points  are  deemed  sufficiently  accurate  for  prac- 
tical purposes,  differing  from  the  true  position  less  than  one- 
half  of  a degree. 

Teachers  will  increase  or  diminish  the  number  of  points  at 
their  discretion ; but  care  should  be  taken  not  to  burden  the 
memory  with  more  numbers  than  are  really  necessary  to  secure 
accuracy  in  the  form  of  the  map.  Some  teachers  would  have 
more  points  fixed  in  the  map  of  Europe  than  the  number  here 
given*  Very  few  maps  require  more  than  half  as  many  points  as 
the  map  of  Europe.  By  making  a few  trials,  teachers  will  readily 
ascertain  how  many  points  it  is  best  to  fix  in  the  memory  by 


60 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


latitude  and  longitude,  and  how  far  it  is  best  to  rely  upon 
general  recollection  in  giving  the  direction  of  coast  lines. 

Suppose  the  first  lesson  be  a map  of  the  coast  line  from  Cape 
North  to  St.  Petersburg.  The  points  essential  to  this  exercise 
are  Cape  North,  the  Naze,  Tornea  and  St.  Petersburg. 

The  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  points  having  been  learned, 
recitation  may  be  required  in  the  following  manner : 

Cape  Norfh  is  situated  71°  N.,  26°  E.  The  general  direc- 
tion of  the  coast  line  is  southwesterly  to  The  Naze  at  the  south 
point  of  Norway,  with  many  small  indentations ; thence  north- 
easterly to  Christiana,  coast  line  regular ; thence  southeasterly 
to  the  most  southern  point  of  Sweden,  very  regular.  The 
position  <?f  the  remaining  points  and  the  regularity  and  direc- 
tion of  the  coast  line  should  be  learned  and  recited  in  a similar 
manner. 

The  class  is  now  prepared  to  draw.  First  each  pupil  draws 
upon  the  board  a vertical  line  called  the  scale,  representing  5° 
or  10°  of  latitude,  according  to  the  size  of  the  map.  A dotted 
vertical  line  should  now  be  drawn  representing  the  central 
meridian  in  Europe,  the  20th  degree.  Supposing  our  scale  to 
represent  5°  of  latitude,  the  most  southerly  point  being  about 
35°,  the  most  northerly,  70°,  the  difference  will  contain  seven 
spaces  of  5°  each;  hence  there  will  be  eight  parallels.  Now 
divide  the  meridian  into  seven  equal  parts,  each  equal  in  length 
to  the  scale  assumed,  and  draw  dotted  curved  lines  through  the 
points  of  division,  representing  parallels  of  latitude.  Next 
draw  the  meridians.  On  the  parallel  of  the  70th  degree,  a 
degree  of  longitude  is  nearly  one-third  of  a degree  of  latitude. 

The  most  easterly  point  being  in  longitude  60°,  and  the 
most  westerly  nearly  10®  W.,  there  will  be  eight  spaces  and 
eight  meridians  east  of  the  meridian  of  20°,  and  two  spaces 
and  two  meridians  west  of  it. 

Now  set  off  on  the  parallel  of  70°,  eight  spaces  equal  to  one- 
third  of  the  scale,  east  of  the  meridian  of  20°,  and  two  on  the 
west.  A degree  of  longitude  on  the  parallel  of  35°  is  four- 
fifths  of  a degree  of  latitude,  nearly.  Now  proceed  to  lay  off 
the  same  number  of  spaces  as  before,  each  being  four-fifths  of 
the  scale,  and  connect  the  parallels  of  70°  and  35°  with  straight 


GRADED  COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 


61 


or  curved  dotted  lines.  The  frame  being  completed,  let  the 
points  learned  and  described  be  located  with  dots  and  con- 
nected with  lines,  in  conformity  with  the  description  previously 
given.  After  the  class  has  acquired  the  ability  to  represent 
with  accuracy  and  rapidity  the  first  lesson,  another  section  of 
the  boundary,  together  with  that  previously  drawn,  should  be 
assigned  for  the  next  lesson.  Let  successive  sections  be 
assigned  until  the  outline  is  completed.  The  teacher  cannot 
over-estimate  the  value  of  rapid  execution  in  map  drawing, 
which  is  attainable  only  by  frequent  reviews. 

The  mode  of  representing  lakes,  rivers,  mountains  and  prom- 
inent towns,  will  be  readily  suggested  to  the  teacher. 

§ 11.  HISTORY. 

Care  should  be  taken  that  the  memory  of  the  child  be  not 
burdened  with  trifling  and  unimportant  facts.  The  leading 
points  should  be  seized  upon  and  their  relation  to  other  lead- 
ing facts  be  understood.  The  most  prominent  points  in  U.  S. 
history  should  be  associated  with  dates.  In  regard  to  others, 
it  matters  but  little  whether  the  exact  date  be  remembered. 
See  §§  13,  6. 

§ 78.  READING. 

In  this  grade  and  in  the  first  grade,  I would  recommend  the 
occasional  practice  of  writing  out  the  reading  lesson  in  full  and 
of  reading  the  same  from  the  manuscript.  The  manuscripts 
should  also  be  carefully  examined  as  to  chirography,  spelling^ 
punctuation,  margin  and  general  divisions  of  the  lesson  into 
paragraphs.  See  § 1. 

§ 79.  SPELLING,  See  § 2. 

§ 80.  MENTAL  ARITHMETIC.  See  § 3. 

§ 81.  WRITTEN  ARITHMETIC. 

It  is  well  to  require  a simple  statement  of  the  method  of 
performing  each  example  assigned  the  student  in  recitation, 
before  he  takes  his  place  at  the  blackboard.  Facility  in 
analysis  is  the  first  and  most  important  point  to  be  gained. 
See  §§  6,  36,  64,  13. 


62 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


FIRST  GRADE. 


Oral  Instruction.— Geology,  meteorology,  popular  astronomy,  historical 
sketches  (Babylon,  Nineveh,  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  Jerusalem,  Athens, 
Carthage). 

Morals  and  Manners. 

Grammar  completed,  with  parsing  and  analysis  from  reading  book. 

Compositions,  Abstracts  and  Written  Reviews. 

Geography,  completed  and  reviewed,  with  map  drawing  from  memory,  and 
use  of  terrestrial  globe. 

History  of  United  States , completed  and  reviewed. 

Sixth  Reader,  with  explanations,  illustrations  and  analysis.  Analysis  of 
derivative  and  compound  words,  and  a few  selected  rules  of  spelling.  Speller 
completed. 

Writing. 

Singing. 

Slate  Arithmetic , completed  and  reviewed.  Exercises  in  combining  series 
of  numbers. 

Mental  Arithmetic  reviewed,  especially  more  difficult  examples. 

Declamations  and  Recitations. 

' Physical  Exercises , from  two  to  four  minutes  at  a time,  not  less  than  three 
times  a day. 

§ 82.  ORAL  INSTRUCTION. 

Geology. — Five  or  more  oral  lessons  on  the  geological 
formation  of  the  United  States  ; coal  fields ; mineral  ores ; 
geology  of  Illinois  ; fossiliferous  rocks. 

Popular  Astronomy . — Ten  or  more  elementary  lessons. 
The  earth — its  size  and  motions.  Change  of  seasons — how 
caused  ; difference  in  the  length  of  days  and  nights  at  different 
seasons  of  the  year  ; length  of  the  longest  day  at  the  equator ; 
at  the  tropics ; at  the  polar  circles ; at  the  poles.  Tides. 
Solar  system.  The  sun — its  office,  distance,  magnitude,  spots. 
The  moon — its  size,  distance,  telescopic  appearance,  different 
phases ; eclipse  of  the  moon,  of  the  sun.  Name  the  planets 
in  their  order,  relative  size,  satellites ; rings  of  Saturn. 
Morning  and  evening  stars.  Comets.  Fixed  stars. 

Teach  the  pupils  to  point  out,  in  a clear  night,  five  or  more 
conspicuous  constellations  ; five  or  more  stars  of  the  first  or 
second  magnitude  ; all  the  larger  planets  that  are  above  the 
horizon. 

Meteorology. — Six  or  more  oral  lessons  on  winds,  clouds, 
fogs,  dew,  frost,  moisture  settling  on  a vessel  of  cold  water  in 
a warm  room,  rain,  snow,  hail,  ice. 


GRADED  COURSE  OP  INSTRUCTION. 


63 


Historical  Sketches. — Their  location,  their  present  condition, 
their  former  importance,  the  character  of  their  former  inhabi- 
tants, and  their  modes  of  life  as  known  from  history  or 
learned  from  their  ruins,  will  furnish  sufficient  topics  for  study. 

§ 83.  GRAMMAR  AND  USE  OF  LANGUAGE. 

At  least  half  the  time  appropriated  to  grammar  in  the  first 
grade,  should  be  spent  in  parsing  and  analyzing  select  pieces 
from  Milton,  Pope,  and  other  authors,  embracing  the  different 
varieties  of  style.  The  extracts  required  for  this  purpose  may 
be  selected  from  the  reading  book. 

No  exercise  should  be  regarded  as  complete  and  satisfactory 
that  does  not  analyze  the  thought  as  well  as  the  language  of 
the  writer. 

Pupils  of  this  grade  should  receive  special  instruction  in 
letter  writing,  including  the  form  and  manner  of  beginning 
and  ending,  with  the  date;  paragraphs;  dividing  between 
syllables  at  the  end  of  the  line;  margin;  folding;  superscrip- 
tion; sealing,  etc.  See  also,  §§  6,  53,  7 0. 

§ 84.  USE  OF  GLOBES. 

Pupils  should  receive  so  much  instruction  in  the  use  of  the 
terrestrial  globe,  that  they  will  be  able  to  solve  by  it,  before 
the  class,  not  less  than  five  common  problems ; as,  to  find  the 
length  of  a degree  of  longitude  at  any  given  latitude  ; to  find 
the  hours  of  sunrise  and  sunset,  and  the  length  of  day  and 
night  at  a given  place  on  a given  day ; to  find  how  long  the 
sun  shines  without  setting,  at  any  given  place  in  the  north 
frigid  zone,  and  how  long  it  is  invisible,  etc. 

§ 85.  HISTORY. 

Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  history  connected 
with  the  important  points  studied  in  geography.  The  places 
and  what  has  happened  there  should  be  closely  associated* 
See  § 77. 


§ 86.  READING,  See  §§  1,  78. 


64 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


§ 87.  SPELLING. 

Special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  analysis  of  derivative 
and  of  compound  words,  with  the  meaning  and  use  of  the 
more  common  prefixes  and  suffixes.  A few  rules  of  spelling 
should  be  taught  and  their  application  illustrated  by  familiar 
examples.  See  § 2. 

§ 88.  WRITTEN  ARITHMETIC. 

The  review  should  be  thorough  as  far  as  principles  are 
concerned.  See  §§  13,  81. 


89.  WRITING,  See  §§  23,  55. 


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lamation, during  the  entire  course.  Classical  Antiquities,  Military  Affairs,  during  the  second  year.  Classical  Antiquities, 
Civil  Affairs,  during  the  third  year.  Classical  Antiquities,  Mythology,  during  the  fourth  year.  Ancient  Geography,  in  con- 
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OPTION-  IN  THE  COURSE. 


67 


OPTION  IN  THE  COURSE. 

Pupils  in  the  General  Department  are  required  to  choose 
between  German  and  Latin  at  the  commencement  of  the 
course,  and  continue  the  same  language  without  change  for 
two  years. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  third  year,  pupils  in  the  General 
Department  are  allowed  to  continue  their  Latin  or  German,  or 
take  French  instead  for  the  remainder  of  the  course.  Thus 
no  pupil  in  the  General  Department  studies  more  than  one 
foreign  language  at  the  same  time,  and  all  are  permitted  to 
take  two  foreign  languages  at  some  time  in  the  course. 

Pupils  that  elect  to  take  Latin  during  the  first  and  second 
years,  can  defer  their  choice  between  the  Classical  and 
General  Course  till  the  opening  of  the  third  year. 


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TEXT  BOOKS — HIGH  SCHOOL. 


69 


TEXT  BOOKS  USED  IX  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL. 
GENERAL  DEPARTMENT. 

1.  Preparatory  Studies  reviewed,  using  the  text  books  author- 

ized in  the  District  Schools. 

2.  Warren’s  Physical  Geography. 

3.  Weber’s  Universal  History. 

4.  Ancient  Geography,  in  connection  with  History. 

5.  Ray’s  Higher  Arithmetic. 

6.  Ray’s  Algebra. 

7.  Davies’  Legendre. 

8.  Plane  and  Spherical  Trigonometry. 

9.  Mensuration. 

10.  Gillespie’s  Surveying. 

11.  Xavigation. 

12.  Hanaford  & Payson’s  Elementary  Book-keeping. 

13.  Gray’s  Botany. 

14.  Robinson’s  Elementary  Astronomy. 

15.  Cutter’s  Physiology. 

16.  D.  A.  Wells’  Xatural  Philosophy. 

17.  D.  A.  Wells’  Chemistry. 

18.  Geology  (Hitchcock’s)  and  Mineralogy. 

19.  Quackenbos’  Rhetoric. 

20.  Wayland’s  Political  Economy. 

21.  Shurtliff’s  Governmental  Instructor,  and  Constitution  of 

the  United  States. 

22.  Haven’s  Mental  Philosophy. 

23.  Etymology. 

24.  Cleveland’s  English  Literature. 

25.  Hillard’s  Sixth  Reader. 

26.  Drawing. 

27.  Vocal  Music;  using. the  Coronet. 

28.  Woodbury’s  German  Series. 

29.  Schiller’s  William  Tell,  and  Schiller’s  Maria  Stuart. 

30.  Fasquelle’s  French  Course. 

31.  Chapsal’s  Literature  Francaise. 


70 


TEXT  BOOKS — DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 


CLASSICAL  DEPARTMENT. 

Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  15,  16,  24,  25,  26,  27. 

Andrews’  and  Zumpt’s  Latin  Grammars. 

Harkness  Arnold’s  First  Latin  Book. 

Andrews’  Latin  Reader. 

Arnold’s  Latin  Prose  Composition. 

Andrews’  Caesar. 

Johnson’s  Cicero. 

Bowen’s  Virgil. 

Andrews’  Latin  Lexicon. 

Antkon’s  Classical  Dictionary. 

Crosby’s  Greek  Grammar. 

Crosby’s  Greek  Lessons. 

Arnold’s  Greek  Prose  Composition. 

Felton’s  Greek  Reader. 

Boise’s  Xenophon’s  Anabasis. 

Owen’s  Homer’s  Iliad. 

Liddell  & Scott’s  Greek  Lexicon. 

TEXT  BOOKS  USED  IN  THE  DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 

Hillard’s  Fifth  and  Sixth  Readers. 

Parker  & Watson’s  First,  Second  and  Third  Readers. 
Parker  & Watson’s  Elementary  Speller  and  Pictorial 
Primer. 

Edwards’  Outlines  of  English  History. 

Charles  A.  Goodrich’s  History  of  the  United  States. 
Kerl’s  Grammar. 

Warren’s  Common  School  Geography. 

Mitchell’s  Primary  Geography. 

Robinson’s  Practical  Progressive  Arithmetic. 

Colburn’s  Intellectual  Arithmetic. 

Emerson’s  First  Part. 

Payson,  D unton  & Scribner’s  Writing  Books. 

Webb’s  Charts. 

Philbrick’s  Primary  School  Tablets. 

Webster’s  Primary  Dictionary. 


TEXT  BOOKS DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 


71 


Merry  Chimes  and  Song  Bird,  No.  2. 

Movable  Cards  with  Words  and  Letters  for  the  use  of 
the  Tenth  Grade. 

Dictionaries. — Webster’s  and  Worcester’s  Quarto  Dictiona- 
ries shall  be  used  as  authority  in  Definitions,  and  Webster’s 
Dictionary  as  authority  in  Orthography  and  Punctuation  ; but 
the  orthography  of  any  scholar,  in  exercises  of  composition, 
shall  not  be  deemed  incorrect  if  in  accordance  with  either 
Webster  or  Worcester. 

TEXT  BOOKS  USED  IN  EACH  OF  THE  GRADES 
OF  THE  DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 

TENTH  GRADE. 

Webb’s  Cards,  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4 and  6. 

Philbrick’s  Primary  School  Tablets,  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4 and  9. 
See  page  26. 

NINTH  GRADE. 

Webb’s  Cards,  reviewed. 

Philbrick’s  Tablets,  Nos.  15  and  16. 

Parker  & Watson’s  Primer,  completed  and  reviewed. 
Emerson’s  First  Part,  through  4-f-10. 

See  page  31. 

EIGHTH  GRADE. 

Parker  & Watson’s  First  Reader,  completed. 

Emerson’s  First  Part  in  Arithmetic,  through  Addition  and 
Subtraction  to  page  27. 

Song  Bird,  No.  2. 

See  page  35. 


72 


TEXT  BOOKS DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 


SEVENTH  GRADE. 

Parker  & Watson’s  Second  Reader,  to  page  119. 

National  Elementary  Speller,  to  page  40. 

Emerson’s  First  Part,  from  page  27  to  page  32. 

Song  Bird,  No.  2. 

Writing — Philbrick’s  Tablets,  Nos.  3 and  4 ; and  Payson,. 
Dunton  & Scribner’s  Charts. 

See  page  37. 

SIXTH  GRADE. 

Parker  & Watson’s  Second  Reader,  from  page  119  through. 
National  Elementary  Speller,  from  page  40  to  page  53. 
Writing — Payson,  Dunton  & Scribner’s  Charts. 

Emerson’s  First  Part,  from  page  32,  through. 

Abbreviations — pages  154  and  155  of  Speller,  and  Multipli- 
cation Table  through  12X12,  and  review. 

Song  Bird,  No.  2. 

See  page  40. 

FIFTH  GRADE. 

Parker  & Watson’s  Third  Reader,  from  page  39  to  page  163r 
section  14;  also,  sub-sections  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9 of  the 
Introduction,  Part  1 to  page  25. 

National  Elementary  Speller,  page  53  to  page  70. 

Writing — Payson,  Dunton  & Scribner’s  Charts,  and  Writing 
Book,  No.  1,  or  2,  or  3. 

Colburn’s  First  Lessons,  to  page  56. 

Mitchell’s  Primary  Geography,  to  page  53. 


TEXT  EOOKS — DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 


73 


Abbreviations — Speller,  page  156,  and  review  pages  154 
and  155. 

Merry  Chimes. 

See  page  44. 

FOURTH  GRADE. 

Parker  & Watson’s  Third  Reader,  from  page  163,  section 
14,  through  the  book ; also,  rest  of  Introduction  from  page  25 
through. 

National  Elementary  Speller,  from  page  70  to  page  85. 

Payson,  Dunton  & Scribner’s  Writing. 

Colburn’s  First  Lessons,  from  page  56  to  page  94,  section  9. 

Robinson’s  Rudiments  of  Written  Arithmetic,  to  page  74. 

Mitchell’s  Primary  Geography,  from  page  53  through. 

Merry  Chimes. 

See  page  49. 

THIRD  GRADE. 

Hillard’s  Fifth  Reader,  from  page  61  to  page  219,  lesson  60  i 
also  one-half  of  Part  1. 

National  Elementary  Speller,  from  page  85  to  page  117. 

Payson,  Dunton  & Scribner’s  Writing. 

Colburn’s  First  Lessons,  from  section  9,  page  94  to  Tables 
page  128. 

Robinson’s  Rudiments  of  Written  Arithmetic,  from  page  74 
through  the  book. 

Kerl’s  Grammar,  Part  I and  Part  II  to  page  105,  omitting 
fine  print 


74 


TEXT  BOOKS — DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 


Warren’s  Geography,  to  page  46. 

Merry  Chimes. 

See  page  52. 

SECOND  GRADE. 

Hillard’s  Fifth  Reader,  completed. 

National  Elementary  Speller,  from  page  117  to  page  131, 
Miscellaneous  Exercises. 

Payson,  Dunton  & Scribner’s  Writing. 

Colburn’s  First  Lessons,  completed  from  page  128. 
Robinson’s  Practical  Arithmetic,  from  beginning  to  page 
231,  (mainly  review,  see  3d  grade). 

Warren’s  Geography,  from  page  46  to  page  76. 

Kerl’s  Grammar,  from  page  105  to  page  190. 

Goodrich’s  History  United  States,  to  page  145. 

Merry  Chimes. 

See  page  56. 

FIRST  GRADE. 

Hillard’s  Sixth  Reader. 

National  Elementary  Speller,  completed  and  reviewed. 
Payson,  Dunton  & Scribner’s  Writing. 

Colburn’s  First  Lessons,  reviewed. 

Robinson’s  Practical  Arithmetic,  completed  and  reviewed. 
Warren’s  Geography,  completed  and  reviewed. 

Kerl’s  Grammar,  completed  and  reviewed. 

Goodrich’s  History  United  States,  completed  and  reviewed. 
Merry  Chimes. 

See  page  62. 


PREFERENCE  BOOKS. 


75 


REFERENCE  BOOKS. 

The  following  Books  are  recommended  to  teachers  for  their 
careful  study : 

Page’s  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching. 

My  Schools  and  School  Masters,  by  Hugh  Miller. 

Welch’s  Object  Lessons. 

Calkins’  Object  Lessons. 

Barnard’s  Object  Teaching. 

Sheldon’s  Object  Lessons. 

Mayo’s  Lessons  on  Objects. 

Northend’s  Teacher  and  Parent. 

Fireside  Philosophy. 

Youmans’  Household  Science. 

Herbert  Spencer’s  Works. 

Holbrook’s  Normal  Methods. 

Barnard’s  American  Journal  of  Education. 

History  and  Progress  of  Education. 

Willson’s  Manual  of  Instruction. 

Walton’s  Tablets  and  Key. 

Northend’s  Teacher  and  Assistant. 

Hazen’s  Professions  and  Trades. 

Wells’  Science  of  Common  Things. 

Manual  of  Elementary  Instruction. 

Model  Lessons  on  Objects. 

Reason  Why. 

Wickersham’s  School  Economy. 

These  books  can  be  found  in  the  Teachers’  Reference  Library 
at  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  may  be  consulted 
there. 


